Don't Lie
by Gatergirl79
Summary: Follow-up to Just Want To Feel Something. College. Giles. Sam. Buffy struggles to balance all the new commitment in her life, but still hasn't found the right moment to tell her mom about her relationship with Giles. When Joyce finally does find out it's from the lips of Buffy's worst enemy. Obviously Buffy/Giles pairing. NO BETA.
1. Don't Lie

**A/N: I tried to keep this as close to the series as possible, like with the first story but it didn't exactly work out that way, so certain episode have been skipped or reworked, which means this story won't be as long as ****Just Want to Feel Something****. Which BTW, you really need to read before carrying on with this or it won't make a lick of sense.**

**Title taken from a song by Trace Adkins, as was the title for the previous story. **

**Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story.****I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. ****All rights belong to Mutant Enemy.**

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episode Freshman.**

* * *

**Don't Lie**

Buffy sighed as the bus rolled past the Welcome to Sunnydale sign. She was finally home. She'd spent the past three weeks in San Diego with her dad, which hadn't been so bad, except for avoid the subject of Sam's father. Her dad had wanted to make up for missing her birthday and graduation. and the birth of his first grandchild. Buffy had the feeling her mom had something to do with the sudden interest from the man. She had to admit he'd taken to Sam far quicker then her mom had and she had a bag full of stuff to prove it, as well as a nice big check in her purse, guilt money she knew, but if it help her get through the first few months of college then she was happy. She still hadn't completely figure out how she was going to balance everything. After graduation she'd been concerned on spending time with Giles. They'd been almost inseparable when her mom had returned with Sam, they been a little family, spending most of there time at Giles house. The rest of the gang quickly settled into the new meeting place. At least until Xander had headed off on his road trip and her mom dragged her and Sam off on vacation, before shipping her off to her fathers. Altogether she'd spent the maxium of three weeks with Giles before being shuffled between her parents and she was desperate to see him again. Sadly she wouldn't be able to for a few more days. He taken her absence and his new found unemployment as an opportunity to pay a visit to England. Buffy turned to look at her son, she had a feeling that he'd missed Giles too. "Don't worry Sammy, we're almost home." She murmured passing him his pacifier.

The bus pulled to a stop a few minutes later and she grinned at the sight of her mom and Willow waiting for her, waving a handmade 'Welcome Home' sign like she'd been away for years. Buffy chuckled as she got out of her seat and reached for Sam's carrier.

"Buffy!" Willow squealed rushing to her friend, flinging her arms around her.

"Hey Will." She gasped.

Willow pulled back with a bright grin and took the carrier to coo over the baby while Buffy hugged her mom before they headed toward the car. "How's thing been?" Buffy asked looking at Willow.

"Quiet." the redhead replied, knowing just what the slayer was asking. "But there was a….possible attack three days ago. Thomas McIntosh. He was buried this morning."

Buffy smiled. "Could have at least let me get settled in." she complained.

"Maybe you should have come back last week, like you planned." Joyce said as she helped her daughter put the bags in the trunk.

"I wanted to but Dad wanted a little more time with Sam. I couldn't say no."

"But you start college on Monday and you've got so much to do. We still have to sorted out where you're going to stay or what you're going to do with Sam."

"Mom, chill. We have the whole weekend. I'll deal with this….Tom whatever guy and then come home and we'll talk. Okay?"

Joyce didn't look happy but she nodded. "Alright."

They drove back to the family home, Joyce made her a snack while she put Sam down for a nap, then she changed into her 'work' clothes and headed out to do her job. Willow in tow. They got to the cemetery quickly, chattering all the way. Once there they settled in for the long haul, not knowing when the dead guy would resurrect himself. Willow sat crossed legs on a blanket, pulling out Buffy's colleague paperwork from her bag, the slayer needing to complete it before school started, so Willow flipped open the course selection booklet and began to scan the pages.

"Anything?"

"Ah! Introduction of the Modern Novel. A survey study of 20th century novelists. - Open to freshmen. You might like that."

Buffy turned to frowned down at her friends. "Introduction to the Modern Novel? I'm guessing I'd probably have to read the modern novel."

"Maybe more than one."

"I like books. I just don't wanna take on too much. - Do they have an Introduction to the Modern Blurb?"

"Oh! Short stories."

"Well, that's good."

"Oh, no. It conflicts with Psych."

Buffy frowned, already getting a headache. She really should have listen to Giles when he said to pick her classes before she went away. Of course she'd brushed it off, finding something far more interesting to do. "Maybe I shouldn't take Psych?"

Willow's head shot up. "You gotta. It's fun and you can use it as your science requirement." the redhead insisted. "Anyway, Professor Walsh is supposed to be great. She's like, world-renowned."

"How do you get to be renowned? I mean, like, do you have to be nowned first?"

"Yes, First there's the painful nowning process." Willow murmured. "Wait! Images of pop culture. This is good. They watch movies, TV shows, even commercials."

Buffy's brows rose. "For credit?" _seriously_? She did that all the time, and got no credit at all.

"Isn't college cool." Willow grinned.

"How did I miss that one?" Buffy asked, dropping down next to Willow on the blanket, scanning the page over her shoulder.

"Well, you did sort of wait till the last minute with your course selection."

"Sorry, Miss I-Chose-My-Major-In-Playgroup." she teased.

"That's an exaggeration. I just, you know, think it's good to be prepared. Don't wanna be caught unawares."

Buffy let out a heavy breath. "I've been busy. What with Mom and Dad and Sam…."

"And Giles?" Willow added with a knowimg smirk.

Buffy bit back a grin. "I just haven't had a whole lot of time to think about life at UC Sunnydale."

Willow looked over at her friend. "What's happening with Sam? You staying at home?"

Buffy shrugged. "We haven't really had a chance to talk about it, not properly. Mom wants me to have the whole college experience, said its part of being there, but…well, Sam. It's not like I can have him on campus with me."

"What about off campus?"

"I think that's my only real option. Dad gave me some guilt money, I think that it should cover me for a few months."

Willow nodded. "Then what?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we'll just have to take it from here. One day at a time." She huffed warily and looked over her shoulder. "Is this guy ever gonna wake up?"

**~Don't Lie~**

It was two hours later when Buffy returned home, without a slayer. They figured it hadn't been a vamp attack after all. She'd barely made it through the door when her mom called her into the lounge to talk. Buffy really didn't want to go through this right now, it was late and she was tired after a hectic day but she went, dropping her bag by the stairs as she passed them. She sat next to her mom who was looking though a pile off papers.

"Yeah mom." Buffy smiled sweetly, hoping this conversation wouldn't take long.

"Buffy, we need to talk about what you're going to do."

"Oh, right. Listen mom can't we talk about this tomorrow?"

"And then tomorrow you'll say later and before you know it, it will be Monday and nothing will be prepared."

Buffy sighed slouching back into her is seat. "Alright, so what is it."

"What are you going to do? Housing wise?"

Buffy shrugged and rubbed her temples. "I. I don't know. I guess look for a place off campus."

"And what about Sam? What are you going to do with him while your in class or studying or slaying?"

Buffy stomach lurched. She hadn't really thought about that. She hadn't wanted to. "I….Giles said he'd look after Sam." Well mayby not in so many words, but he was the boy's father and he loved being with him so it was a reasonable assumption.

"Buffy you can't expect Mr Giles to take care of Sam all the time. That's not fair."

Buffy bit her lip to stop from say it was perfectly fair as he was Sam father. They hadn't discussed when or how to tell her mom, they both knew it was going to be bad, like nuclear war bad, but it would have to be done eventually. Buffy made a mental note to speak to Giles about it as soon as he got back. "He's fine with it."

Joyce shook her head. "See, this is what I didn't want for you."

"Mom." Buffy sighed.

"No. I knew this was going to happen. You wouldn't be able to have a normal life, go to college and parties and date. Not once you had a baby."

"Mom. I don't care about a normal college experience. If it's a choice between school and Sam. Sam wins." she said harshly. "I'll figure it out. Giles will help because he wants to. He loves Sam, he wants to spend time with him…." Buffy knew she was beginning to raise her voice and she tried to reign it in. "…As for living arrangements, I'll figure something out. I can do this."

Joyce got to her feet and began to pace the room. After a few moments she stopped and turned to meet her daughters gaze, arms folded around her. "Buffy….I've been thinking about this while you were away and….I want you to stay on campus."

"What?" Buffy frowned. "Mom, I can't live on campus with Sam. That's not…"

"I'll take care of Sam. You can stay on campus during the week and come home at weekends."

"What?" Buffy's green eyes flew wide open. "You can't be serious? I can't just leave Sam."

"He'll be perfectly alright. He's still young and he'll see you at weekends and you can drop by after school when possible. - It's the best option."

"No, the best option is me living with my son somewhere close to the school."

Joyce huffed out a breath, growing frustrated. "Buffy."

"No. Mom, I'm not leaving my son." the slayer got off the couch and stormed off up the stairs.

"Just think about it." Joyce called after her.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Can you believe it?" Buffy whispered down the phone line.

"_Well….it does sound…"_

"Don't you dare say you think it's a good idea?" Buffy snapped, her eyes flying over to the crib.

"_I think your mum is just trying to give you a chance at a normal life."_

"I don't need her to take Sam away from me to have that."

"_Buffy, she's not taking him away from you, she offering to take care of him while you're at school. It's a perfectly reasonable offer and one many girls in your situation don't get."_

Buffy glared at the phone. "You know you're supposed to be on my side, right?"

"_I am on your side." _

Buffy sighed rolling over in the bed, facing the empty space beside her. "No you're not. - When are you coming home?"

"_Tuesday, all goes well."_

"Good. I need to see you."

"_I want to see you too."_

Buffy smiled goofily down the line. "I'm glad to hear it." her voice taking on a deep husky tone.

"_I'm going now."_

"Do you have to? Can't we just talk?"

"_About?" _

"Anything. I just want to hear you're voice." she tried to stifle a yawn but failed.

"_Buffy go to sleep, I'll call you tomorrow. - And really think about your mum's offer. As much as I hate to say it, especially as it will most probably make you mad, it makes sense."_

Buffy grunted as her eyes drifted closed.

"_Goodnight Buffy."_

"Night Giles." she whispered warily.

"_I love you."_

"Love you too."

The line went dead and she reached over to drop it in the cradle before rolling back and cuddling up to her pillow, wishing it was her English librarian.

**~Don't Lie~**

"What about the gallery?" Buffy asked over breakfast. She'd been awake for hours thinking over her mom's offer. Weighing up the pros and cons, taking into account Giles's opinion.

"The gallery will do fine without me for a while."

"A while?" Buffy raised a brow. "We're talking college here mom. That's like two, maybe four year."

Her mom moved around the kitchen almost ignoring her daughter.

"Mom!"

"Yes." Joyce snapped around.

"Focus. You wanted to talk about this, well, I'm talking. The Gallery."

"I'll figure something out." Joyce insisted.

Buffy raised the spoon of glompy baby food to Sam's mouth. "I've been thinking. What if Giles takes him during the day. He doesn't have a job anymore so he's free."

"We can't ask him to do that." Joyce said shaking her head.

"He'll be fine with it. I told you, he loves Sam." smiling at the boy knowingly. "And he's my watcher, it's his duty to help me out."

Joyce frowned at her. "I thought he was fired?"

"Well, technically yeah, but…Wesley's not around anymore so, he's the go to guy now."

Joyce took a sip of her coffee.

"Mom, if you want this, this is how it's going to work. Giles takes Sam during the day, you have him after work. I'll come home after school almost every day and will stay at weekends."

Joyce studied her daughter closely, seeing the stubborn clench of her jaw. Realizing Buffy's mind was made up she nodded, just glad her daughter was going to have a chance to be normal.

"Oh and mom, if I come home to find you've given him away…."

"_Buffy_!" the older woman snapped.

"What? It's not like you haven't got history."

"I would never have given him away without your blessing. What kind of person do you think I am?"

Buffy looked at her mother and was awash with guilt. "Sorry. I…sorry. I know you wouldn't do it. I just don't want to leave him."

Joyce moved around the kitchen island and brushed a kiss to her daughter's forehead. "I know, but it'll all be worth it when you graduate."

Buffy smiled up not so convinced. "Yeah, we'll see."

**~Don't Lie~**

Monday morning Buffy stood in the middle of the campus utterly overwhelmed by the chaos. People were shouting out so many things her brain couldn't absorb it all. Through all the madness she caught something important.

"Freshmen! We're doing this by folder colour! If you're not holding on to a yellow folder, you're in the wrong group. You belong up by Weisman Hall."

Buffy flicked though the pile of papers in her arms. Not seeing a yellow folder she turned to go in search of Weisman Hall. As she made her way through the campus, she was approached by a myriad of people.

"Rally tomorrow night. Let the administration know how we feel."

"Right." Buffy nodded.

"Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior?"

"I meant to, and then I just got really busy." The slayer smiled apologetically.

"Party Thursday at Alpha Delt. Free Jell-O shots for freshmen women."

Buffy took the flyer with a smile. "Do you guys know where…Weisman Hall is?" she didn't get her answer as the guy moved on to the next girl. So _this was what her mom wanted her to experience. Well, great. Totally worth giving up her child for. _

"Buffy! Hey!"

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her best friend. "Oh boy, am I glad to see you!"

"Isn't this cool? There's so much going on." Willow said cheerily.

"Yeah. Almost, one might say, too much." Buffy murmured.

"I got all my courses…except for Modern Poetry. I had to switch to Ethnomusicology."

Buffy stared at her friend. _What the hell was that?_

"But that's cool. West African drumming. I think it's gonna change everything. - Have you met your roommate yet?"

Buffy couldn't help but smile at her friends excitement. "No."

"Me neither. I hope she's cool. I see you got ticketed, too. - I've heard about five different issues and I'm angry about every one of them. - What's you get?"

"Jell-O shots."

"I didn't get Jell-O shots." Willow pouted. "I'll trade you for a Take Back the Night?"

Buffy giggled as she handed over all the flyers she'd collected on her walk through. "Are we near Weisman Hall? I still need to get my ID card."

"I got mine this morning. The lines are really long now. You should've gone early."

"Well, I hope that I learn from this experience and that I grow."

"I'm being annoying, aren't I?" Willow said apologetically.

"No. It's nice that you're excited." Buffy smiled, bumping her friends shoulder.

"It's just in high school, knowledge was pretty much frowned upon. You really had to work to learn anything. But here, the energy, the collective intelligence, it's like this force, this penetrating force, and I can just feel my mind opening up and letting this place just thrust into and spurt knowledge into…"

Buffy watcher her friend with a raised brow. Willow must have realised what she was saying because she stopped mid-sentence.

"That sentence ended up in a different place that it started out in."

Buffy chuckled. "Yeah, I got that. But don't worry. I'm with you, thought. I'm all for spirty knowledge." she blushed slightly. "It's just…It's a little overwhelming. Don't you feel it?"

"Well, I'm…Ooh, boyfriend! It's my on-campus boyfriend!" Willow jumped excitingly as Oz approached.

"Oh no, I forgot to pick mine up. The line's probably really long now, too." Buffy said, distracting herself from Willow and Oz's make-out hello. She really needed to see Giles. She was really beginning to feel left out. She stood to the side while her friends exchanged words.

"How are you?"

"Good. It's a madhouse, a madhouse." Oz said.

"I know, I was just saying that to Willow. It's so overwhelming. Don't you feel completely disoriented?" Buffy asked, hoping someone was feeling her confusion.

"Oz!" Someone shouted and they turned to see a tall dark haired boy rushing over. The werewolf and boy spoke for a few minutes and it became clear Buffy really was the only one feeling totally out of her element.

After the guy left Oz turned to Willow with an apologetic almost smile. "Well, the band's played here a lot. It's still all new. I don't know what the hell's going on. Hey Doug!"

Buffy looked over her shoulder then back at Oz. "Right. Glad I'm not alone."

"Come on Buffy, lets go get your ID sorted…" Willow smiled, linking her arms though Buffy's. "…then we'll stop off at the Library and the bookshop."

Buffy gave the pair a worried look. "Great." she swallowed nervously. "Lead the way."

**~Don't Lie~**

A couple of hours later Buffy and Willow were in search of the library, it took them a good twenty minutes to find it.

"Library…Ooh, library. Come on."

"It's too bad Giles couldn't be librarian here. Be convenient."

Willow sent her friend a raised brow look.

"Not like that." Buffy giggled.

Willow laughed as they took the steps. "Well, he says he's enjoying being a gentleman of leisure."

"You spoke to him?" Buffy frowned.

"Not since he's been away." she shook her head, smirking at Buffy's jealous tone.

"Oh." the slayer dropped her gaze embarrassingly. "Gentleman of leisure?" she said steering the subject away from her foolish girlieness. "I think that's British for unemployed." she laughed.

"Uh-huh. He's a slacker now. - You heard from him?"

"Yeah. He's due back tomorrow. Can't wait to see him." she sighed longingly.

"Yeah, I bet."

Buffy shouldered her friend. "Shut up. - Speaking of slack, have you heard from Xander?"

"Not for a while. He's still on his cross-country see-America thing. He said he wasn't coming back until he had driven to all 50 states."

Buffy frowned across at the redhead. "Did you explain about Hawaii?"

"Well, he seemed so determined."

The pair giggled as they turned the corner, finally reaching the library.

"Hope he gets back soon. It'd be fun to have the whole gang back together. Hanging out in the…." Buffy trailed off as she look into the impossibly large room. "...library."

"Wow! Oh, my gosh! Isn't this amazing?" Willow gushed, doing a full 180 of the room.

"It's…cosy." Buffy murmured sarcastically, which Willow clearly missed.

"You know, I never wanted to hurt Giles's feelings, but, occult books aside, our old library just didn't have the greatest selection. But this?" she looked around in awe once more.

"Yeah, this is great, you know, if we ever need a place for the Nuremberg rallies." Buffy murmured still not feeling the awe. She missed her small little school library, with Giles small little office. It had been...home for so long.

"This is a real library." Willow said excitingly, only to be shushed by the librarian. "See, we even have to whisper. It's like a whole new world."

"Yeah. Big echoy new world."

Willow grinned wildly, turning to go in search of books.

"Will."

The redhead stopped and turned back to her.

"Books."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Willow shrugged, looking over her shoulder longingly as she walked out with her best friend.

They made it to the on campus bookshop in a few minutes having already passed it on their way to registration. Buffy rushed off to grab her books while Willow grabbed her a basket.

"Buffy."

"Thanks Will." the slayer smiled, dropping the books into the plastic basket. "I can't wait till Mom gets the bill. I hope it's a funny aneurysm."

They made their way through the stacks, in search of the rest of the reading list.

"Introduction to Psychology." Willow murmured as she looked at the shelves. "Oh, up there."

"I'll get'em." Buffy said, reaching up to the very top of the book shelf. "This place discriminates against short people."

"Oh, I think there's a protect next week."

Her fingers fought to get a grip on the books but only managed to knock them off and onto some guy's head. "Oh! Oh!" Buffy gasped. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm okay, it's okay." the guy said getting to his feet. "Well, that was bracing."

"I'm so…the books were just too high, and then everything was bad." Buffy murmured, dropping to her knee to collect the books.

The guy smiled. "Let me give you a hand. - Let's put a few of these down here."

There was an awkward moment as Buffy and Willow exchanged looks. Even though they both had boyfriends, they weren't blind and the guy was hot.

"So are you girls taking Intro Psych, or do you just want me dead?" he joked.

Buffy blushed scarlet. "Uh-huh. I mean, the first one."

"You'll have fun. Professor Walsh, she's quite a character." the guy smile warmly at the pair.

"You've taken it?" Willow pressed.

Buffy looked at her friend. Her eyes shining and a wide smile on her face.

"I'm a TA. I'll be helping the professor out. - I've forgotten my manners in all the concussion. I'm Riley." he introduced.

"Willow. And this is my friend Buffy."

"Nice to meet you both."

Buffy stood watching the pair converse about something she didn't understand. Her gaze flickering between the them. If it wasn't for the fact that Willow was in a happy strong relationship she'd think they were flirting. She bit the inside of her lips and shuffled her feet as she stood to the side while they finished their conversation.

"They have it here."

"Oh, where?"

"I'll show you. I don't meet many freshmen that know much about psychology."

Buffy took the basket as Willow vanished around the stack with Riley.

Buffy was left for twenty minutes in the bookshop waiting for Willow and her new friend. Once she returned, they paid for their book and Buffy said she needed to finish unpacking. The two girls said they'd catch up later and Buffy headed back to her dorm, leaving Willow talking to Riley.

She reached her room to find her room-mate already busy getting settled. "Hi."

"Oh, hi!" the girl grinned. "Are you Buffy?"

_Obviously_. "Yeah."

"Kathy."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you."

"So, it's, uh…it's a pretty nice room, huh?" Buffy settled down on her bed, watching the girl unpack.

"Mmm"I was surprised, cos you hear horror stories about freshman housing. You took the right side."

"Yeah. But, you know, if you want it…?"

"No, no. I just wanted to make sure that's what you wanted. You excited for classes tomorrow?"

"Painfully." Buffy smiled tightly. _As a hole in the head_.

"I bet there's gonna be a lot of parties to go to this week, too. Not that I'm a crazy partier. And I'm not always this hyper, either. I'm just excited."

"Yeah." _This is going to be hell. I just know this is going to be hell_. "Me too." Buffy lied, wishing Willow was there. Why couldn't she have roomed with Willow.

"I just know that this whole year is gonna be super fun!" Kathy announced as she tacked her Celine Dion poster to the wall.

Buffy's eyes widened at the sight. _Oh God, no. Hell. No, hell would be way better. Where's the hellmouth when you want it. _

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy's first night on campus was horrific. She barely slept because her room-mate snored and made weird noise, and then their was the phone call from Giles saying that he was going to be delayed another day. And the next day wasn't any better. After getting lost at least five times, she was thrown…yes, thrown, though not literally, out of her Popular American Culture class. She wasn't able to catch up with Willow until Psych which thankfully she hadn't been thrown out of.

And now she was lost again.

"Ooh!"

"Oh!" Buffy's had reached out to stop the guy she'd bumped into from falling. "Sorry."

"No, I wasn't looking." he apologized. "Did you lose your way?"

"Me? No, no. I'm just going to Fisher Hall." Buffy said, not sounding overly confident. "Which I know is on the earth planet. - Recently voted most pathetic. Uh-huh."

"Well, I'm lost, and I have a map. So…"

Buffy's face lit up. _Map, why didn't I think of that_. "Oh! I come in second. - I'm Buffy, by the way."

"Eddie." He nodded with a smile.

Buffy leaned over to look at the map. "Okay, so….So that's Fischer Hall, right?"

"Okay, and this is Dunworth Building. That's my dorm. It's just….It's us I can't find." Eddie said, looking around for some type of sigh or marker.

"Are we the blue part?"

"No. Yes."

"So if I came from there, then we would just wanna go that way to the…bike path." Buffy said feeling like a map-reading genius.

"You sound very certain. I'm in." Eddie smiled.

They walked a few steps before Eddie tried to make conversation. "Are you taking Psych 105 with Professor Walsh?" pointing to Buffy's books.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna try. She's not afraid of the long words, huh?"

"She's pretty intense. A lot of the courses are really tough." Eddie sighed.

"I'm a little upset. I had it on good authority that this was a party school." Buffy joked.

"I think it's supposed to get easier." Eddie said, not sound all that sure about the statement.

"I still feel like carrying around a security blanket."

"_Of Human Bondage_…."

Buffy glanced up at him causiously.

"Have you ever read it?"

"Huh, Oh, I'm not really into porn. I'm trying to cut way back." Buffy laughed, making a joke out of her discomfort at just where this conversation was going.

"No. There's no actually bondage." Eddie smirked. "It's just a novel. I've read it, like, ten times. I always keep it by my bed. - Security blanket."

Buffy blushed at her own foolishness. "I don't really have a security blanet. Unless, of course, you count Mr Pointy." she said causally, liking having someone who got the weirdness to talk to.

"Mr Pointy?" Eddie frowned at her.

_Whoops_. "Oh. Bike path." she announced, sighing with relief. "It's nice to know that I'm not the only entirely confused person on this campus."

"I suspect there's a lot of us." Eddie nodded.

"I'll look for you in Psych." Buffy smiled, feel a little more at ease in the new world.

"Yeah. We can help each other figure out what they're talking about."

"Ok." Buffy grinned.

"Maybe even make it through the year. - Good night."

"Night."

Buffy walked away with a little more lightness in her step. It would be good to have a friend who understood how daunting this new part of her life was, and maybe in time he could even join the Scooby's. They could always do with more hands on board. That was assuming they got on. Buffy turned the corner towards her destinations with a smile.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy stood in the psych class looking around for Eddie. She hadn't seen him all lesson and she'd thought maybe he'd sat at the back. She watched at her fellow students files out, but couldn't see him. He hadn't struck her as the type to skip class after only a day.

"You looking for someone?" Willow asked from behind her.

"Yeah."

"You made a friend? Good for you!" the red head grinned, not meaning to sound patrinising.

"Thanks mom."

"Sorry." Willow sight, "I just meant."

"It's fine. I'll catch you later." Buffy abandoned her friend. Something was wrong, she felt it in her gut, and Giles had always told her to trust her gut.

It took her half an hour to find out where Eddie was staying. The RA informed her that he'd packed up his stuff and left.

"It happens sometimes. People just can't handle it." the guy said, showing her his room. "There's always a few kids who lose it early in the first semester and just bail."

Buffy looked around the room. As disorientated and lost as Eddie had been, she couldn't believe that he'd just left. She looked at the note.

**This is too much to handle. I can't take it anymore. No time to say goodbye! Eddie. **

It didn't feel right. Nothing about it did. She dropped the note back on the bed and that's when she saw it. The drawer of his nightstand was open a little. Buffy frowned at she pulled it open wider and took a breath at the sight of the old battered book. Eddie's security blanket. Now she knew he hadn't left.

**~Don't Lie~**

She didn't have anymore classes that day, her schedule still pretty light so she left campus and headed to the only person she knew would be able to tell her what to do. And she wouldn't deny that she was desperate to see him after almost two months. The longest two months of her life. She let herself into the apartment with the key he'd given her months ago. The sound of music proved that he was finally home. She walked further into the flat, looking around. "Giles?"

"Rupert, is this blue cheese or is it just cheese that's gone blue?" A woman called from the kitchen.

Buffy swung around to stare at the youngish black woman, her eyes wide and her heart pounding in her chest.

"You're not Giles." the woman smiled, appearing around the doorway. A smug confident smile on her face, and dressed only in a man's shirt.

The bottom fell out of Buffy's stomach and she could feel her eyes burning. She heard the sound of a man's cough and she swallowed.

"Rupert, you have a guest!" the woman called over her shoulder.

Buffy held her breath and waited. A few seconds later Giles strolled out looking half asleep and dressed in only his bathrobe.

"Buffy." he smiled.

Buffy stared wide eyed between the pair, before turning on her heels and heading for the door, murmuring something about a bad time.

Giles looked between him and Olivia and cringed. "Shit. - Buffy." he called rushing after her, out into the courtyard. "Buffy wait, I can explain."

"Explain?" the slayer shouted. "You have a half-naked woman in your apartment, I think that says everything."

Giles groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Olivia's an old friend. I meet her on the flight back from England. She needed somewhere to stay."

Buffy glared. "You know, there's these wonderful invention called _Hotels_."

"Buffy…"

"No, you know what. I don't have time for this. I've got a possible vamp stalking the campus, so I'm just going to go do my job." she turned and headed for the stairs, but Giles caught her arm.

"Buffy, what vampires?"

"I can deal with it. You go back to your…._Friend_."

Giles watched her walk away with a moan, his hand combing through his hair. Turning he headed back inside.

"Everything alright?" Olivia asked, now fully dressed.

"No." he sighed, shaking his head. "Far from alright."

"Oh, so she's….Bit young isn't she?"

Giles stared at Olivia, his jaw tightly clenched. "She's mature for her age."

Olivia didn't look convinced, but knew better than to say anything else. "Well, I better start phoning around for hotels."

"I think that's for the best. I've got to…" he didn't finish the sentence heading instead for the loft bedroom.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy felt sick, physically. Emotionally. She couldn't believe Giles had slept with another woman. And a part of her mind, the rational part said he hadn't. But she couldn't see past the pain of seeing that woman, that _'friend' _in his flat left in her chest. The sickness was slowly turning to anger and she decided that hunting down the possible creeps on campus and take out her anger on them would solve all her troubles. So she marched through the campus, trying to focus on doing her job and not her relationship, that could very well be over. She scanned over the crowd. "How am I supposed to hunt in this mob?" she asked herself. "Don't you people have homes?"

She paused on the edge of the bike path, frowning at the sight of a familiar face. "Eddie?" she took off at a sprint. "Eddie! Eddie, hey! Wait up. God, I was worried something had happened to you." she said, catching up with the guy and then sighing when he turned to prove her worst fears true. "And of course it has, because you're a vampire. - I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Vampire Eddie said making a grab for her.

It wasn't all that hard to dust him, and she really hated it. It was always harder dusting people she knew and liked.

"The slayer!"

Buffy spun to look up at a pale blond. Clearly the head of the small group that was slow circling her.

"Wow. Um, I heard you might be coming here." the vamp said with feign awe. "This is…I mean, what a challenge. The slayer."

Buffy rolled her eyes. Why did every vamp think they had what it took to take her? "And you are?"

"I'm Sunday…"

_Sunday? her parent's must have really hated her. A feeling I'm beginning shared._

"…I'll be killing you here in a minute or so."

"That threat gets more frightening every time I hear it." Buffy sighed.

"Are we gonna fight? Or is there just gonna be a monster sarcasm rally?" asked a long hair surf-type vamp.

"I'm in for a piece." said another one from behind her.

"Everybody gets to play." Buffy smiled. She was happy to take the lot of them. She'd just imagine they were Giles '_friend_'.

"Guys, this….is totally…mine?" Sunday said, smirking confidently.

"Ok, but you gotta share the eatin." Surfer vamp reminded. "Cos I'm thinking Slayer's blood's gotta be - whoa! - like Thai sticks."

"Aren't people supposed to get smarter in college?" Buffy said, staring over at the guy.

"I think you had misconceptions about college. Like anyone would be caught dead wearing _that_."

Buffy took a swing but was easily blocked, then another. She fought as hard as she could but the female vampire blocked each move, throwing her own.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but…." Buffy braced herself as Sunday struck her. "….you fight like a girl."

Buffy couldn't believe she was losing, as she was thrown into the windshield of a park car. Sunday following after her, grabbing her arm and bring her knee up to dislocate it. Buffy sucked in a breath as she scrambled to get away. _First rule of Slaying. Don't die. _She told herself. Looking at the group of vamps she got to her feet and ran. She hated running but she was out numbered and unable to think of what else to do. She hadn't run far when she crashed into a solid body. Panting out an apology, she looked up and felt a wave of relief hit her. "Xander!"

"Hey, Buff." he smiled, then frowned as she saw the cuts and bruises on her face. "What happened."

"When did you get back?" she asked avoiding the subject.

"Couple days ago, what happened?" he said more firmly.

"Vamps."

"Dust?"

Buffy looked at her feet, shaking her head. "She kinda took me down. - I don't know how..."

"What? Where's the gang? Avengers assemble! Let's get it going!"

"No, I don't wanna bug them." Buffy swallowed hard at the images of Giles and that woman. "I….they're just starting school and they don't need this."

"What about Giles?"

Buffy turned to walk away.

"Buffy?" Xander frowned; grabbing arm and then letting go instantly when she hiss in pain. "Sorry."

"He's just got back from England….he'll be busy."

"Busy?" Xander repeated, his brows high. "Giles is never too busy for a vamp hunt. - Buffy what's wrong? Don't tell me you two have….broken up since I've been gone."

Buffy bit her lower lip. She didn't want to discuss this right now. It hurt too much. "No. We're just…" she sighed, her throat tightening. "It's complicated."

Xander as always seemed to understand what Buffy needed, and right now she was in need of a vampire to take her frustration out on. "Alright, let's put this bitch in the ground. What do you say?" he smiled encouragingly at his best friend.

Buffy looked at him for a long moment before a smile spread across her features. "I think…I say thank you."

"And nothing says thank you like dollars in the waistband."

Buffy frowned with confusion. "What?"

"Nothing. Forget I said that okay. There are some things that friends shouldn't share."

"Ok."

**~Don't Lie~**

It didn't take the pair to locate the nest. After breaking into the school's records office they tracked them to the abandoned Psi Theta building. From the skylight in the roof, Buffy found that Sunday and her band of idiot vamps had already managed to get to her room and take her stuff.

"Oh, that's my skirt! You're never gonna fit in it with those hips! We have to kill them."

Xander nodded. "We need weapons."

"I don't see my weapons trunk there." Buffy murmured, looking back into the room. "It was right by my bed. Mr Gordo?" the slayers voice dropped dangerously. "Go to my room. If it's not there, try Willow's. I'll keep an eye….My diary?"

Xander swallowed nervously at the murderous tone his friend had taken on. "I'll hurry."

Buffy watched from the skyline, balancing cautiously on the glass. "Laugh all you want. This time we play it my way. And the rules are gonna be…." She didn't get to finish her sentence as the window shattered and she dropped painfully onto the floor below. "Oh."

"Say, don't I know you from beating the crap outta you?" Sunday smirked confidently.

"I just thought I'd drop in. Get it? Drop in? Boy, tough room."

**~Don't Lie~**

"Xander!"

The teenager turned to see Giles heading towards him just outside Buffy's dorm building. "Hey G-Man, can't stop, Buff's in a holding pattern, need to get supplies." Xander rushed up the steps.

"What? Holding pattern?"

"Yeah, vamps taking kids from campus." Xander explained over his shoulder as he yanked the door open.

Giles frowned, his heart slamming into his chest as he rushed in after the boy.

They burst into the dorm room to see Willow and Oz talking to a young girl.

"Now either Buffy took off, or she was robbed, or…."

"It's a prank!" Xander announced loudly, cutting Oz off mid sentence.

"Xander? - Giles?"

Willow grinned as Xander wrapped her in a hug. "How are my guys?" he took hold of the other girl. "I don't know you, do I?"

"No."

"This is very intrusive, isn't it?"

"Little bit!"

Xander stepped back apologetically. "Xander."

"Kathy."

He turned to Oz. "Do we hug?"

"I think we're too manly." Oz replied in his usual bland tone.

"What's the prank?" Willow interrupted looking worriedly from Giles to Xander.

"Prank? Oh, the room. Some friends of Buffy's played a funny joke, and they took her stuff." he laughed. "Now she wants us to help get it back from her friends who sleep all day and have no tans."

"Oh, those friends!" Willow said, nodding.

"They're funny guys." Oz added.

"They took the chest." Giles remarked, from the side of Buffy's bed.

"Well, let's go! Let's go to our friend." Xander said, bidding farewell to Kathy as he walked backwards to the door. "It's nice meeting you, Kathy."

"You, too!"

"Let's go to Will's, get supplied." Xander said as they walked at a fast pace down the corridor.

"Is Buffy in danger?" Willow asked with growing concern.

"We've got some time."

**~Don't Lie~**

"Ah! Argh!" Buffy grunted as she hit the floor from yet another punch.

"Oh, who's this cutie?" Sunday cooed holding the framed photo of Buffy with Sam. "Baby brother? Sweet."

Buffy bit her lip to stop from correcting the vampire. Being the son of a slayer would make Sam more of a target than the brother of one. So she lay there at Sunday's feet watching as the girl dropped the frame to the floor and smash the glass with her heel, tearing the photo. Anger flooded the slayer, bubbling over so that when the vampire gripped her bad arms she didn't feel the pain of her shoulder popping back into it's socket.

"You know, this arm's not looking so good. - It might have to come off."

"You wanna know the truth?" Buffy asked through clenched teeth. "I only need one." her fist came up to connect with the side of the vamps face, knocking her off balance.

Buffy embraced the anger, allowing it to give her extra strength and focus, not just her anger at the way the vamp had smashed the photo of her son but her anger at Giles and that woman. She delivered blow after blow, kicking Sunday across the room. fully aware of her friends arrival. "When you look back at this, in the few seconds before you turn to dust, I think you'll find the mistake was touching my stuff." She informed the bitch.

Sunday grabbed Buffy's arm. "What about breaking your arms? How does that feel?"

"Let me answer that with a head butt." the slayer slammed her forehead into the bridge of the vamps nose, making her cry out and stagger back a few paces. Then she clenched her fist. "And for the record. The arms hurt, not broken." she brought the fist up, punching her so hard under the jaw that the vampire flew backward to crash into a pile of boxes.

"Hey, Buff. Need a hand?" Xander asked with a grin.

"Nuh…." she turned with a smile before twisting at the waist and flinging the broken handle of a tennis racket into Sunday's chest. "I'm good."

Giles rushed forward, his hands going instantly to the side of Buffy's face, turning it to the side to get a better look at the blooming bruise on her cheek. She looked up into his worried gaze. "I'm fine." she murmured, her hands resting over his.

"Buffy, I swear nothing happened. You've got to believe me."

Buffy stared into those honest green eyes and took a breath. "I do." she smiled softly. "But I want her…."

"She's already gone." Giles finished.

"Good."

Buffy crouched down to pick up the broken frame, looking at it longingly. "I don't know if I can do this?" she murmured. "Staying here, away from Sam."

Giles placed to supportive hands on her shoulders. "No one's forcing you to Buffy. I'm sure you're mom won't mind if you move back, and if she does….you can always move in with me." he said softly against her ear.

Buffy turned wide eyed. "What?"

He smiled gently before leaning down to kiss her. "Why not."

* * *

**A/N: Please review so I know if this is any good.**

**Once again Buffy makes a comment that in hindsight is like a creepy prophet of doom. **_. "I can't wait for mom to get the bill, I hope it's a funny aneurysm."_

**And if you want keep up with post and other works, feel free to follow me on Tumblr, links in my profile. **


	2. Sharing Isn't Simple

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my**_**story.****I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. ****All rights belong to Mutant Enemy.**

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episode Living Conditions.**

* * *

**Sharing Isn't Simple**

Buffy cringed as the music started again. Didn't her room-mate listen to anything else? It had been like the fifteenth time she played that damn song, and as much as Cher had her moments, there was only so many times you could listen to _Believe_ before losing the will to live. At least she wouldn't be here much longer. Her decision to move in with Giles had been made, the only thing that was holding her back was that she needed to tell her mom, which meant telling her everything. That was why she was still here, going crazy, she just couldn't find the courage to sit her mom down and explain the whole Giles/Sam situation. She knew she was being a coward, but hey, it was her mom and she knew she wasn't going to just say "That's wonderful Buffy, I'm really happy for you." It was going to cause world war three. So she kept putting it off. For the past three days she'd been putting it off, but she knew she couldn't handle living with Kathy much longer.

Needing to escape she decided now was the time to do her nightly patrol. Walking to her closet she pulled out her jacket and shrugged into it.

"Going out?" Kathy asked from the ironing board, where she was running the iron over her jeans. _Like who the hell irons jeans?_

"Yeah." Buffy smiled tightly. She hated having to lie about her nightly routine, but it's what came with being secret identity girl again. Another reason she couldn't wait to move in with Giles. "I'm seriously caffeine deprived. Figured I'd head down to The Grotto and get a jolt and…do some studying."

"Oh, it's late. Won't you be up all night?" Kathy frowned.

"Oh, yeah, but it's cool." Buffy replied trying to sound calm and friendly, even as she wanted to bite the girls head off and tell her to mind her own business. "I'm sort of an up kinda night person. I mentioned that, right?"

"I guess I didn't realize you'd be coming and going at all hours. Well, not that I mind." thought clearly she did. "I'm just surprised."

"I'll be quiet as a mouse, I promise. - Ok." Buffy made her way to the door when Kathy's irritatingly chipper voice stopped her.

"Oh! Say, Buffy."

Taking a breath she turned, clenching her jaw tight.

"I wanted to show you this little system I implemented."

"Oh, goody! System." the slayer grinned.

"Just log every call you make in here so when the bill comes it won't be a problem. Cos I figure. A stitch in time…."

"Catches the worm." Buffy finished. "You bet! Ok, then."

"Also…."

Oh she was going to kill this girl.

"I noticed that some of my milk was missing. Did you…?"

"Oh! Yeah, actually, I did. I meant to…"

"No! It's totally OK. I was just wondering."

"Yeah, I was making my coffee and…."

"It's fine. I just wanted to make sure…" Kathy grinned as she pressed play on the small stereo and Cher's voice filled the room for the sixteenth time. "That we didn't have a thief or something."

_A thief? What the hell was she on? _"Like who? Sid the Wily Dairy Gnome?" Buffy frowned.

"I don't know…It's no big deal. I mean, please, feel free." Kathy grinned madly and bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Ok. I'm really sorry. - I have to…"

"Have a good time!"

Oh she really was going to, kicking the crap out of some night crawler was just what she needed right now. "Yeah. You, too. With ironing."

Buffy met up with Willow just outside the dorm building.

"So you had trouble getting past Kathy?"

"Yep. She made big with the questions. Seriously I can't wait to get away from her."

"Well, all you have to do is talk to your mom." Willow smiled at her knowingly.

"I know, I know. I will, it's just….you know."

"Yeah, I get it. She's gonna freak. But it's tell her or stay in the dorm with Kathy."

Buffy visible shivered. "I'll tell her. - Maybe I could write her a long letter and post it from Hawaii."

Willow chuckled with a shake of his head. "Well you'd definiatly be away from Kathy."

The two girls walked on through the dense greenery of the campus.

"Kathy's nice and all, but she's, sort of…I don't know, like, Mini-Mom of Momdonia….Wait. Did you just hear something?" Buffy frowned, looking into the darkness.

"I'm chewing my gum kinda loud."

"That's not it."

"My sneakers are squeaky."

"I'm looking for something lurky, Will."

"Oh." Willow turned her head to listen intensely. "Sorry, no."

"Darn, I could use a little playtime tonight." Buffy huffed. "Listening to the best of VH1 all day sorta put me on edge."

"Kathy's still spinning the divas?"

"Cos it's the funnest!" Buffy announced imitating Kathy's chirpiness. "It's no big. College is a time of change, right? Before too long, she'll be trip-hopping all over the place."

"Well, here's where I get off." Willow said pausing at the edge of the bike path.

"Say hey to Oz for me."

"Happy hunting."

Buffy grinned as she watched her friend walk away. "Wish me monsters."

Buffy turned, heading in the opposite direction. She hadn't gone far when she heard a noise behind her.

"Will? - Alright…why don't you quit hiding and come out and face me like a….thing?" she called, reaching for the stake in her jacket.

"Hey, I caught you!"

Buffy groaned inwardly as Kathy came rushing towards her. "Is everything OK?"

"Oh, everything's super. I just decided a decaf latte sounded like heaven after all."

"So you're coming along."

"Why not?"

_How about because I'm going to hunt monsters and you could get hurt. Actually, sure come along._

"…This way you don't have to walk these spooky paths alone."

"Great! That's just great!"

"This is neat, isn't it? The fresh air, the trees."

Buffy reacted instantly at the sound of a growl in the darkness, shoving Kathy into the undergrowth with a yelp before turning to defend them from a robed figure. The thing put up a fight for a few minutes before fleeing into the darkness. Buffy helped her roommate out of the bushes.

"What the blizzard was that all about?" Kathy asked.

Buffy was used to thinking on her feet. "Uh, he, um tried to take my backpack."

"God, what were you thinking taking him on like that?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I panicked."

"I mean, it's just you could've gotten hurt or something. God, and look at my sweater, it's ruined!"

Buffy rolled her eyes and there was her thinking the girl had actually been concerned for her, huh. "Yeah….sorry about that. Here, we'll go get you cleaned up."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy had headed straight for Giles's at dawn to find the apartment empty, she grabbed the post and went to sit at the patio table in the courtyard to wait for him, only for him to come jogging down the steps as she reached the chair.

"Hello." he murmured breathlessly.

She smirked as he doubled over panting. He looked hot covered in sweat, her body reacted to the masculinity. "You run?"

"And jog and bend and occasionally frolic." he looked at her knowingly and Buffy felt her face heat up.

"Don't you just." she smirked, leaning forward to kiss him. "I grabbed your mail. What's with the Motorbike and Scooter magazine?"

"Congratulation, you've found me out. I'm a mod jogger." Giles sighed, grabbing the towel off the back of the chair where he'd left it, wiping the sweat from his face.

"Are you having a midlife thing?" Buffy frowned. "Cause I still remember the last time you tried to recapture your youth."

Giles met her gaze and took a step towards her, his arms snaking around her waist, leaning close. "Fancy an encore?"

Buffy giggled a little, her arms wrapping around his neck and pulling herself up for another kiss, her body pressed close to his. "Don't tempt me." she murmured against his lips. "And I'm so tempted." she kissed him again. "But…" she sighed. "...we have work. Demon. Last night."

"Oh?" Giles said, reluctantly pulling away. "Are you alright?"

"Made with the pummelling, but he got away."

Giles put some distance between them, unsure he could concentrate on the situation with her so close. "What sort of demon?"

"Um, he had a cloak on and glowing green eyes. And his skin had a, like, super-bad fake rub-on tan." she informed him.

"Translate?"

"Orangey."

"Thank you. Anything else?" he took a swig of his water.

"My roommate Kathy was there, but she didn't see anything." Buffy sighed warily.

Giles frowned. "You took your roommate patrolling with you?"

"I invited the whole dorm, but she was the only one that could make it." she rolled her eyes. "I told her I was going for coffee and she decided to tag along."

"Oh. Well, from what you describe, I'm not familiar with the creature, but I'll give you a ring when I've found something."

Buffy nodded but didn't move to leave. "You know, it's nice out here."

"Yes, I take my tea out here sometimes."

"What are you doing today?"

"It's a big day for me, actually. A friend acquired an original Gutenberg demonography…" Giles frowned over at the young woman. "And you've never once asked me what my day's plans were, which leads me to inquire whether you're feeling yourself."

Buffy looked insulted. "That's not true. I ask about you all the time." she said defensively, though she suddenly realised that she hadn't and felt terrible. "Ok, maybe the words don't actually make it out of my mouth, but I think about it."

Giles walked over to her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "And it's appreciated, but shouldn't you be getting to class?"

"I….thought that…can't I just stop by my boyfriends place in the mornings."

Giles smirked at the title as he dropped into the seat beside her with a raised brow.

Buffy sighed guilty again. "It's no big. I just figured I'd hang here, you know, until my roommate goes to class."

"Ah, I see."

"I know, it's probably just me having a bitch attack. But it's _not_..."

"Buffy, living with somebody is never easy…."

"Giles, listen. When sharpening her pencils, she measures them with a ruler so they're all the same size."

Giles couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Which is fussy, I agree, but everybody has their idiosyncrasies. You'd do well to learn to tolerate them. - At least until you've build up the courage to speak to your mother about us." he looked at her meaningfully.

Buffy swallowed. "I know. I will talk to her. I have to. I want to be with you and Sam. All of us together."

Giles took her hands, his thumb rubbing at their backs. "I understand Buffy, really I do. I'm not looking forward to the prospect of you're mother discovering the truth about us. I can image the fall out will make everything we've faced over the past three years pale in comparison. So there's no rush, I'm here when you're ready."

"Thank you." She leant forward to press her lips to his, her hand resting against his clammy cheek.

A few minutes later she pulled away and got to her feet. "Take a mental pic. This is the new Buffy. Kinder, gentler, roommate extraordinaire."

Giles nodded at her. "You'll be fine. - You coming back this evening? - Maybe I'll have something for you."

"Promise."

"I meant about the demons." Giles laughed.

"Shame. - I'll see you later." she kissed him briefly before holding her head up and heading off to school.

**~Don't Lie~**

Despite her promise to Giles about being a new and improved roommate, Buffy found herself avoiding Kathy most of the day. When she saw her at the cafeteria at lunch, she'd hid her face behind a tray and slid into the line, hoping she hadn't been seen.

"Ex-boyfriend or loan shark?" a man asked from behind her.

Buffy spun around to face the dark haired man. "Excuse me?"

"The person you're hiding from."

"Oh. Both." Buffy smiled. "Ugly break-up. I'm sorry, I just cut you…" moving to step away.

"No, stay, stay. I'll watch your back."

They moved further into the cafeteria.

"Freshman, huh?" the guy murmured.

"Is it that obvious?"

"There are signs. People who've been around know how to use their dining-hall card. Work it right and you get three meals worth, which equals fewer punch cards used…."

"And more cash from dad that you keep for yourself." Buffy finished for him.

"Right! See, the goal is to polish off as much as humanly possible in one sitting. Enough to get you through the day, while chipmunking items for future consumption."

"Ah! Got it." Buffy nodded, watching the guy shove things into his pockets.

"Excess dry goods fit nicely in a backpack or your pocket. The wetter items - Macaronis, your turkey loaf - then you're into Ziplocs. It's not for beginners."

"I'll just take it slow." Buffy smiled awkwardly.

"So…"

"So, those are my…are you…?"

"Oh, no, I have someone waiting. - Otherwise, I'd…Parker Abrams. I'm at Kresky Hall."

"Buffy Summers, Stevenson." Buffy said warmly.

"Ok. Well, I'll see you around."

"See ya, Parker Abrams."

Buffy strolled over to her friends with a smile. Feeling good about finally finding a friend on campus, or at least the prospect of a friend. After what happened to Eddie she'd begun to think she'd be better off sticking with her gang, but even Willow had non-Scooby friends, so maybe she should at least try.

"Hey! Say hi to Non-College guy." Xander greeted merrily.

"Not that I mind, but don't non-college guys usually populate the non-campus?" Buffy asked taking her seat.

"Usually. I just thought I'd come around and check on my girls." Xander looked at them all in turn, including Oz.

"And eat off my plate." Willow added.

"What's the deal? Parents not feeding you?" Buffy asked, teasingly.

"Sure they do. - For a price."

Buffy gave her friend a sympathetic look.

"So, spill!" Willow announced.

"Huh?" Buffy frowned.

"What was that all about, with the cutie patootie?" nodding in the dirction of Parker.

"Nothing. Just making friends."

Willow looked at her friend intently. "Really?"

"Really. Kinda taken Will, remember? - We were just talking."

"Oh, a technique I know well. Hit the girl with your best shot, then _hasta_." Xander nodded, knowingly.

"Gotta respect the drive-by."

"Low rejection, fond memories."

"There was no drive-by, or rejection. We were just…."

"Talking." Willow finished with a small smile. "It looked like more than that to me. He got all googly-eyed."

"That's because he got hit by the Buffinator. Now he's powerless."

Buffy blushed scarlet. "Guys, _boyfriend_. Soon to be living with."

"How is that going? Figured out what you're going to tell your mom?" Xander frowned.

Buffy dropped her gaze to the table top. "Still avoiding."

The group fell silent for a few moments before Xander spoke again. "So what else is up with the Buff? Any vamp action?"

"No." Buffy shook her head. "I did get jumped by a demon of non-specific origin last night."

"Yeah? Something apocalypsey? Do we need to assemble the Scooby gang?" Xander announced too enthusiastically.

"No, but thank you for asking."

"I just got way too exited, didn't I?"

"You need to get out of the basement a little more." Buffy chuckled.

"Hi, everybody!"

Buffy glanced up to see Kathy and her insides tightened. _Doesn't this girl know when she's not wanted_.

"Squeeze in!"

The table fell awkwardly silent.

"You all know my roomie, Kathy." the slayer announced tightly.

Everyone welcomed the young woman before silence fell once again. Buffy looked over at the girl and frowned. "Is that my sweater?"

"I didn't think you'd mind. You got mine all muddy."

"I was saving you from a…."

"Bear!" Willow all but shouted.

"…mugger." the slayer frowned at her friend like she'd grown a second head or just lost her mind.

"It's not a problem, is it? I figure we're like sisters now, living together and everything."

Buffy felt her friends eye on her and recalled Giles's words that morning. _Toleration_. She had to tolerate her, at least for a while longer. She forced a smile onto her face. "Sure. It's fine."

The conversation turned on to Kathy's origins and her life before Sunnydale, but all Buffy could concentrate on was her sweater. She almost lashed out when a dollop of ketchup landed on it, but she remained in her seated until lunch was over, her hands clenched tight beneath the table.

**~Don't Lie~**

_ Buffy couldn't move. In the darkness all she could see where the glowing green eyes hovering above her. She swallowed hard and struggled against the invisible bonds that was holding her down. Ice cold fingers gripped her jaw forcing it open, pouring blood down her throat. Her heart began to race as the creature dropped a scorpion onto her chest, before forcing her mouth open once again. She felt something leaving her, leaving her feeling weak._

Buffy's eyes shot open to stare up at the ceiling, her heart racing a thousand miles an hour.

"Do you always make that noise when you sleep?" Kathy snipped from the other bed.

**~BtVS: Don't Lie~**

"So, after the scorpion, the demon opened my mouth and sucked a weird light out of me. And the worst part? I wake up and there's Kathy, staring at me like _I'm_ a freak." Buffy explained as she sat with Willow, Oz and Giles in the lounge of the dorm building, Sam's stroller beside her, as the little boy sat on her lap watching his surroundings.

"Actually, the worst part, I'd have to go with the demon pouring blood down your throat." OZ corrected.

"Me, too. I would vote for that, too." Willow agreed.

"But that's just a dream, and this Kathy thing is real. All she cared about was her precious sleep being disturbed."

"Perhaps it would be more productive to examine your dreams." Giles said cautiously. "Determine their meaning."

"You can read dreams? Neat!" Kathy interrupted cheerily.

Giles looked up at the young brunette who stood grinning at him.

"Giles, Kathy. Kathy, Giles." Buffy introduced harshly through gritted teeth.

"He's Buffy's…."

Buffy glared a warning at Willow.

"Grown-up friend. Not in a creepy way." Willow continued nervously, looking from Buffy to Oz.

"Nice to meet you, Kathy." Giles smiled, shaking the girl's hand.

"Ditto. - Maybe you can read the dream I had last night? There was this monster and he sat on me and did all this stuff to me." Kathy explained.

Buffy rolled her eyes as Kathy sat on the arm of Giles chair, a little too close to him, the smile on her face all charming and sweet and she clenched her jaw tighter, as the others exchanged looks.

"Stuff like scorpions? And Bloody Mary minus the Mary?" Oz asked.

"How'd you know?"

"Well, I'm a good guesser."

"Oooh, who's this cutie?" Kathy said turned to smile at Sam.

Buffy's arm instictively tightened around her son, and Sam even seemed to take a disliking to the girl as he lent back against his mother.

"Sam. His names Sam." Willow said, seeing that Buffy wasn't going to answer.

Kathy turned to look from Sam to Giles. "If he yours."

"Yes." Giles smiled proudly and Buffy felt her stomach tightened, knowing that was probably the first time Giles had actually been publically acknowledge his son. She pressed her lips together.

"Wow, he looks like you."

Giles smiled widely at her.

"I'm guessing that you need to be on your way to class. Right, Kath?" Buffy snapped, wanting her gone before she flirted any more with Giles.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Kathy commented lightly to Giles.

"And guess what? You were next to it." Buffy grinned, though her tone held no friendliness.

"You know, I need to dash. My whole schedule is off because _someone _kept me up all night." Kathy matched the slayers tone. "Well, it's been fun. Toodles!"

"Toodles!" Buffy called after the retreating girl, relaxed her hold on Sam.

"You know what this means?" Giles said the moment the girl was gone.

"Yes. Not only does she take my sweater, but now she had to horn in on my dreams and flirt with my boyfriend. She is the most ever mooch. Oh, I haven't even gotten to the floss."

Giles flushed, ignoring the comment about being flirted with. "Buffy, focus. Please? If Kathy and you are having the same nightmares chances are something happened when you both met the demon."

"So we need to figure out if this ritual they're dreaming about had some use or meaning." Willow said, sound just a bit too excited.

"Cool. You guys can do the brain thing. I'm gonna go to class."

"Which could also be the brain thing." Oz remarked.

"Not when you're minoring in Napping 101." Buffy replied getting to her feet, pressing a kiss to Sam's head before handing him over to Giles. As he settled the little boy in his lap she swooped down and took his mouth in a deep hungry kiss, leaving them both breathless. "Later." she smiled seductively down at him before walking off.

Giles watched her with wided eyes and a flushed surprised expression that faded to concern.

"Ok, so that was the evil twin, right? Cos she was bordering on Cordelia-esque." Willow murmured.

"She's definitely pushing the stress meter on this Kathy thing." Oz remarked, looking up at an equally worried Giles.

"I concur that she's not, er, herself. But, you know, learning to live with someone can be a challenge."

"Still want her to move in with you?" Willow asked with a small smirk.

"I'm sure it's nothing to get too concerned about. - Still, let me know if she, erm…"

"Hit's the red zone?" Oz finished.

"Yes. - I'm going to see what I can find on these nightmares. - I'll see you later."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy was surprised when Oz knocked on her door, interrupting her argument with Kathy. Well, argument was probably an understatement, she'd hadn't almost resorted to using her slayer moves on the girl, and all because she'd walked in on her and Parker Abrams being all cosy. It wasn't that she fancied the guy or anything, but it was just another strew to the camels back. Especially after watching her flirt with Giles that afternoon. Oz's arrive was like a gift sent from the gods she knew. Taking a breath she'd grabbed her jacket and backpack and left without another word. Now they were walking though campus, Buffy found she couldn't stop filling Oz in on their fight.

"…So then Kathy's like…it's share time. And I'm like Oh, yeah? Share this." Buffy flew her arms around in a fight like way.

"So either you hit her, or you did your wacky mime routine for her." Oz joked blandly.

"I didn't do either, actually. But she deserved it, don't you think?"

"Nobody deserves mime, Buffy."

"Oh, Kathy does. She deserves to be locked in an invisible box and blow away by an imaginary wind and…."

"Forced to wear a binding unitard?" Oz finished.

"The itchy kind. It's perfect. - Oz, not that I don't love having you around but why are you?"

"I'm just here to help."

"Which I appreciate. But you've never come on routine patrol with me before. So what's the deal?"

"Seemed more interesting than homework."

"As long as it's an elective. I can handle myself alone, you know." Buffy insisted.

"Not in question."

"Good."

They continued on, Buffy picking up on her current favourite subject once more. Oz walked and listened, growing increasingly concerned for his friend. Especially when she thrust her foot through a bench.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy turned the corner to see Willow and Kathy being all pally and a spark of anger and jealousy shot through her. What was the monster doing with Willow? More important question, what was Willow doing talking to her? Couldn't she tell she was evil. Well, she'd just have to tell her and then she'd kill Kathy. The previous night had been a nightmare, the thing was determined to torture her with Cher, which just proved she was evil.

"Why were you talking to her?" Buffy demanded as she came to a stop in front of her best friend, Kathy fleeing like the cowardly monster she was.

"Buffy, come on. We were just saying hi." Willow replied defensively.

"Yeah, that's what she wants you to think."

"Buffy, this has to stop. I mean, I get it. I have a sucky roomie, too. But you just have to deal. It's temporary."

"You're right. I've been thinking a lot about this and it's clear to me now."

"Good. That's better." Willow sigh with relief.

"Kathy's evil. I'm an evil fighter. It's simple. I'm gonna have to kill her." Buffy announced confidently.

"You have to kill her?" Willow repeated nervously. "Don't you think you could just move in with Giles, you're mom doesn't have to know." she pleaded.

"Well, I would but it's not just me in danger from Kathy." Buffy explained pulling the plastic baggie out of her backpack.

"Toenails?" Willow cringed with disgust.

"Evil toenails. - I took them when she was in the bathroom. She thought I was asleep."

"Cos in the middle of the night they could have attacked you…" Willow murmured sarcastically. "…and left little half moon marks all over your body."

"Don't be ridiculous." Buffy frowned at her friends remark. "I measured them before I feel asleep and again this morning, and they grew. After they were cut! That's a demon thing. She has to be eliminated."

"Of course. It makes sense now." Willow nodded uncertainly. "But you'd better show those bad puppies to Giles before you do anything, just to be sure."

"Absolutely. I wouldn't wanna do anything crazy." Buffy nodded, tucking the baggie away.

"You hurry on to Giles. I'll hang here and keep an eye on Kathy."

"Great. Good. Thanks, Will." Buffy smiled at her friend as she turned to leave.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy let herself into Giles place. "Giles? Anybody home?" she looked around the small apartment. She wasn't sure how she was going to fit her stuff in here with all of Giles ancient possessions. "Hello?" she called, then gasped as a net fell on her, quickly followed by Giles, Oz and Xander grabbing her and tying her up.

"What are you guys doing? This is…this is ridiculous!" she yelled.

"This hurts me more than it hurts you." Xander comforted.

"Not yet, but it will." Buffy warned.

"Oh, don't say that. - Please, don't say that." Xander pleaded nervously.

"Giles! Come on, Giles."

"We're doing this to stop you from making a terrible mistake." he informed her.

"Right now the only mistake I can think of, is ever getting involved with _you_." She growled angrily. "Is this any way to treat your girlfriend. No wonder you've been single so long." she snapped.

"Clearly, something is amiss." he said, sitting her on the small table behind the sofa.

"Yeah, something's amiss, a Miss Kathy Newman! - Giles, ow! Giles, look in my bag. Look in the bottom pocket of my bag. She had parts that grow after they're detected."

Giles pulled out the plastic baggie and squirmed at the sight.

"She irons her jeans. She's evil. She has to be destroyed."

Giles looked at the slayer with concern, a fear gripping his chest tight. "I fear the demon that Buffy met in the woods had somehow possessed her." _why hadn't he seen it sooner. He should have seen it sooner. _

"Lite FM. Nothing but love songs."

"You think?" Oz murmured as Buffy continued to rant on.

"You stay and watch her. I know a spell that will reveal the demon so that we can fight it, but I need to get some supplied from the magic shop." He looked into the young woman he loved eyes guiltily. "Buffy, I…." but she just glared at him dangerously. "See you soon." he grabbed his jacket and rushed from the apartment.

Giles drove too fast, he knew he was driving too fast. He should have done something sooner, the moment he'd suspected something was wrong. He should have made her move in with him sooner. Someone she should have patrolled with her. His hands tightened around the steering wheel. He hadn't only failed in his position as pseudo Watcher, and friend but as her lover. He got to the Magic Shop quickly and began gathering the supplied he needed, deciding to look up the ritual Buffy had dreamt about, just to be sure. When he saw the entry on the Ritual of Mok'tagar. Grabbing the plastic baggie out of his pocket his stomach dropped and the guilt double at the sight of the longer clippings. Buffy was right. Her heart clenched painfully. He was really going to have a lot of grovelling to do. Grabbing the supplies he rushed out of the shop and headed back to the apartment with the same speed he'd left it.

Bursting into the apartment he find Willow talking with Oz and Xander "Toenails!" he announced. "They actually regenerate if they're destroyed."

"And that's a demon thing?" Willow groaned.

"Oh, unequivocally, yes. So…" he looked around the flat. "Where is Buffy?"

Xander held up the robe they'd used to restrain her.

Giles clenched his jaw and rushing into the kitchen to gather something's. "I've looked up all known regenerating demons. Only one species practices the ritual that Buffy's been seeing in her sleep. It's used to steal the soul from a human body."

"Wait. Had Buffy been doing a Linda Blair on us because Kathy's been sucking her soul?" Xander asked.

Giles swallowed, forcing back his own guilt. "I believe so, yes." he said tightly, pushing Xander out of the way. "Excuse me, please."

"So Buffy was right all along." Willow murmured. "Later on, big remorse."

"Now, I've found a spell that should reverse the soul transfer procedure immediately. Willow and I will perform it."

"Leaving Xander and me to help Buffy in the flesh." Oz said, leaping from his seat and rushing for the door, pulling Xander with him.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy knew she was right, she'd known no-body human could be that chipper. Buffy groaned as Kathy flung her head first through the dorm room window, before pulling her back in. They'd been fighting for at least twenty minutes and Buffy was surprised campus security hadn't been called.

"The window's open. Happy?" Kathy snarled, throwing her across the room.

Buffy crawled to her bed, trying to get to the weapons but Kathy was on her too quickly, forcing her around and trying to pry her mouth open.

"Open up! Let me finish!"

Buffy tried to fight whatever it was Kathy was doing but it was so hard. Then to her surprise the glowing light flowed out of Kathy and into her.

"How did you do….?" Kathy asked with surprised, toppling off her.

The room began to shake and Buffy stared at a portal opened in the room, then there was another of the Kathy demons. She crawled around the bed to watching as they argued and Buffy had the distinct impression that the demon guy - assuming it was a guy. - was Kathy's daddy. She noticed the door open a few moment before another portal opened in the floor. Kathy toppled back into it with a yell and Buffy sighed with relief, slouching back against the bedroom wall.

"You ok?" Oz asked cautiously from the doorway.

The slayer looked at the two young men that had tied her up. Taking a breath she met their gazes. "Told you so."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy sat on Giles couch as the man hovered around the room nervously. She watched him closely and knew he was feeling guilty about not believing her. Smiling softly she called him over. "Giles."

"Hmm?"

Buffy tapped the couch beside her. "Sit down."

He balanced on the edge of the couch and Buffy moved closer, taking his hand. He looked up at her with an apology in his eyes.

"I should have believed you. I should have trusted your instincts. You're the slayer." he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

Buffy shrugged. "I guess we're even." she smirked softly.

"What?"

"I wasn't exactly all trusting girl when it came to that friend of yours."

Giles met her gaze. "Your reaction was completely understandable. I admit it didn't look good."

"And I was acting crazy, so we're even."

Giles nodded slowly.

Buffy reached for his cheek, turning his head so she could press a kiss to his lips. Shifting her body to straddle his thighs she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling back a little to look into his eyes. "Just promise me that in future, you'll check up on the possible demon before assuming I'm having a fit of the crazies."

"Promise." Giles nodded, pulling her back into a kiss, his hand running up and down her back. Her pelvis pressing down into his seductively, making him moan. "You staying?" he asked against her lips.

Buffy moaned into his mouth as her body heated with need. "I - God, I want to, but I promised to drop in at home to spend some time with Mom and Sam."

Giles pressed his forehead to her and sighed.

She rubbed at his cheek. "I know. We'll tell her soon. Promise."

Reluctantly she climbed off Giles lap. "Better go, you want to come?"

Giles smiled as he got to his feet to follow her, his hand in the small of her back as he led her to the door. "No. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Buffy paused in the doorway, pushing up on her tiptoes to press another kiss to Giles lips. "Sure thing. And we can finish this."

Giles groaned. "Night."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if the chapter sucked. This season isn't as easy as I thought it would be. **


	3. Misjudgement

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

**WARNING: This is kind of a dark chapter dealing date-rape, though nothing graphic, more alluded to. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episode Harsh Light of Day.**

* * *

**Misjudgement**

"So you going to talk to her this weekend?"

Buffy nodded, sipping on her drink. "Yeah. As much as I love sharing a room with you, we really want to all be together."

Willow nodded. "I'm just hoping that whoever I get after you move out, isn't as loud as my last roomie."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Will." Buffy smiled.

"So what ya gonna to tell her?"

Buffy looked down at the table. "I don't know. It's going to be terrible, but Giles is going to be there so it'll be fine. - And all my weapons are in the dorm so there's no change of her shooting him with a crossbow."

The friends chuckled.

"Hey, look. Parker's here."

Buffy looked over her shoulder. "Oh, yeah."

"You guys seem to be getting close." Willow asked cautiously.

"Yeah, he's nice, sweet. It's just good to have a friend who doesn't know….you know, everything."

"So your just friends?"

Buffy looked at her friend with confusion. "What's that meant to mean. Can't I have guy friends?"

"Of course. It's just…" she shrugged.

"Will, I'm happy with Giles okay. Parker's a friend and that's all."

"I just….I'd understand you know, if you're attracted to him. I've been there. And you and Giles…."

"What?" Buffy glared.

"Well, the age thing…." Willow looked at her hands. "….just forget I said anything."

Buffy took a sip of her drink.

"Hey, Buffy."

The girls looked up at Parker. "Hey."

"I just wanted to let you know I'm headin' out…."

The girls exchanged looks of confusing.

"Okay." Buffy smiled.

"And…well…it's not real safe around here at night, so if you guys, you know, want someone to walk you back."

"Oh."

Willow smiled at him. "I'm good, boyfriend." she nodded to the red haired musician on stage.

"Oh right."

Buffy looked at Willow. "You're staying with Oz right?"

"Yep." Willow nodded cautiously, looking between the pair, seeing the interest in Parker's gaze.

"Then I'll head back to Giles's." she said, making a point of saying the name. "If you don't mind walking me?" she asked Parker.

Willow looked at her friend, suddenly understanding what the slayer was doing.

"Sure." Parker said with a slight frown.

"Give him my hi." Willow nodded, meeting her friends gaze.

They headed out of the Bronze and towards main street, idly talking.

"Hobbies?" Buffy repeated.

"Yeah. Hobbies. Interests. I feel like there's so much I still don't know about you. - What do you like to do?"

"Well, mostly I hang out with my _boyfriend_…." she enunciated the word to make her point. "…and do…stuff." she blushed a little.

"Oh, right. Yeah, I was into that for a while." he smiled awkwardly. "What's that?"

"What's what?" she flinched slightly as he brushed at her neck.

"You have a scar."

"Oh, right. Yeah. - Angry puppy."

The started walking again, Buffy determined to keep the conversation light and friendly while making the point that she wasn't available. "You got any scars?"

"Oh, mine are all psychological."

"Oh, please. Those are the best kind."

"Well, my father dies last year."

Buffy flinched. _Good one Buffy, way to put your foot in it_. "Oh. God. Parker, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up that stuff. - Bad, bad Buffy."

"No, no. I'm okay to talk about it now. And I'm not doing the deep, get-sympathy routine. I'm mean, don't you just hate guys who are all; I'm dark and brooding, so give me love?"

Instantly an image of a certain vampire appeared in her mind. "I don't think I've ever met that type."

"I just wanted to say that, what made it so sad was that there was a lot of stuff he didn't get to finish. It made me think about you know, living for now."

"I think about that sometimes. Yeah, I sort of….drowned a couple of years ago. But I came back. Obviously."

"Everybody says they get it: Oh, man, me too. Live for today. But they really want an excuse to goof off and not study for finals."

"Also a valid life choice." Buffy joked as they turned the corner.

"It's cool to find someone else who understands." Parker smiled.

"So, Parker Abrams, when you go to sleep tonight, what are you gonna regret not doing today?" Buffy asked without thinking.

"I'm going to regret….being too nervous to ask you to go to the party at Wolf House tomorrow night."

"Oh." Buffy froze on the corner of the street. "I…Parker I'm…."

"As friends. I swear. I got the not so subtitle hint that you're attracted. But we're friends right?"

Buffy looked at him uncertainly. "Yeah, of course. - I'll….I'll call you, okay."

Parker nodded. "Alright."

Buffy looked over her shoulder. "Well, I'm heading that way."

"I'll walk you all the way."

"It's fine. Giles place isn't that much further." she smiled warmly.

"Okay, well. Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow. Night."

"Night." Buffy nodded turning and heading away from the dark haired guy.

**~Don't Lie~**

"I'm not enjoying this." Xander complained.

Giles groaned, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. If there was one thing that was making him regret asking Buffy to move in with him, he was having to rearrange his apartment, _and _he was also regretting asking Xander to help. "Shelve them correctly and we can finish." he snapped, taking the book from the teenager.

"I don't get your crazy system." the boy remarked.

"My system? It's called the alphabet."

"Huh! Would you look at that?" Xander laughed as he stared at the shelved.

Giles turned at the sound of the front door opening to see the ex-vengeance demon stroll in. Like his night couldn't get any worse.

"You should lock your door." Anya stated matter-of-factly.

"Believe me, I am kicking myself." Giles replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Anya? Last time I saw you, fleeing in terror. How'd that work out for ya?" Xander asked stepping forward.

"I need to talk to Xander." the ex-demon said, glaring at the ex-watcher.

Giles just stared at her.

"Go away. - Xander, come with me." Anya grabbed the teen's arms and dragged him from the apartment.

With the pair gone Giles rolled his eyes and went back to shelving his books. A short while later he turned as the door opened again to see Buffy stroll in, his heart skipping a little. "Buffy?"

"What's Anya doing back?" she asked as she shrugged out of her jacket; fling it over the back of the couch.

"Planning to make our lives hell?" he shrugged, turning back to the books. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too?" Buffy huffed, stopping behind him.

Giles turned to look down at her. "You know I'm always happy to see you."

Buffy raised her brow doubtfully. Giles responded by dipping his head and kissing the young woman deeply.

"Awww, dudes, get a room." Xander announced from the doorway.

Buffy pulled back to look at him, her arms around Giles neck. "We have a room, you're in it." she smirked.

Xander dramatically shuddered. "Well if you're going to be all smoochies, I'm leaving. See ya." he practically ran out of the apartment.

Alone again the pair went back to each other. Buffy pulling Giles back into a deep passionate kiss, the books forgotten as they staggered back towards the couch that had started this whole relationship. Giles gently lowered the young woman down before balancing his weight over her, kissing from her mouth down her neck. Buffy arched into him, her hips grinding at his, pleased to feel his solid arousal pressing back. Her hands crawled at his sweater, dragging it up his back, revealing heated smooth flesh. He pulled away long enough to allow her to rid him of the offending item, dropping it to the floor beside them. Buffy's fingers bit into his shoulders as she pressed hard against him, needing more, moaning at the feeling. One of Giles hands tugged Buffy's blonde mane free of its clip before tangling his fingers into it, while the over slid between them to the fastening of her pants, undoing them with practiced fingers. Once they were open his hands slide beneath the fabric to brush against her panties. They moaned at the same moment, Buffy arching into his hand.

"Buffy!"

The pair toppled off the couch at the sudden interruption, both breathless and flushed. They peered over at the door to see Willow and Oz rushing in.

"I've really got to start locking that door." he complained with a growl.

Buffy sent him an nod of agreement, before getting to her shaky feet, fastening her pants as she stood.

"Oh. Oh….Oh God, sorry." Willow stammered, her hand pressed to the side of her neck. "Should have knocked. Bad Willow."

Buffy smiled. "It's fine."

Giles grunt said he didn't agree.

Buffy bit back a smirk as she watched her lover shrug into his sweater. "What's up?"

"Uh, remember Harmony?"

Giles growled. "Harmony? You came to tell Buffy about a girl from school neither of you even liked?"

Willow looked at him nervously.

"Giles." Buffy scolded.

"We'll you're going to like her even less now. - She a vampire." Oz announced.

As if suddenly noticing Willow's neck, Buffy rushed forward. "Oh God, Will. Are you alright?"

"I'll get the first aid kit." Giles said, his voice returning to normal as he rushed to the bathroom for the supplies.

Oz led Willow to the couch, where she sat looking decidedly uncomfortable, probably because of what she and her werewolf boyfriend had walked in on. "Sorry about…" she nodded to the bathroom.

Buffy shook her head with a smile. "It's fine. You're more important."

Willow looked at her disbelievingly and giggled.

Giles returned a few moments later with the small tin. "Here. What happened?" he asked, handing it to Buffy who started pulling out antiseptic and Band-Aids.

"She came up to me outside the Bronze. She was all casually, asking what I'd been up to since School, then she vamped out and went for me. If Oz hadn't been there."

"You'd have been fine." the werewolf insisted.

Buffy handed the antiseptic to Oz who was sat in a better position to tend her friends wound.

"Harmony's a vampire." she repeated almost in awe. "She must be dying without a reflection." she chuckled.

"She just made me so mad. - She was like, my boyfriend's gonna beat you up." Willow rolled her eyes.

"My boyfriend?" Buffy frowned, looking from her friends to Giles and back.

"Well, if you believe her. She always lied about stuff like that. - He _goes to another school, you wouldn't know him_."

"Devon dated her for a while, but she was too flaky for him, which stop and marvel at the concept." Oz joked, fastening the large Band-Aid to his girlfriend's neck.

"A guy dating Harmony, _dead_. Must be, like, the most tolerant guy in the world." Buffy remarked with a smirk.

"Buffy, what are you going to do?" Giles asked from his potion on the other chair.

She looked at him meaningfully. "Do I have to do something tonight? I mean, this is Harmony, I can't imagine her going on some wild bloody rampage. Can't I like, go find her tomorrow. - I did really have other plans for tonight."

Willow squealed as she looked between the pair. "Right. Yes. Well…." she leapt to her feet. "We'll….go….See ya." she rushed out of the apartment, dragging Oz behind her, her face as red as her hair.

Giles smiled at Buffy. "You did that on purpose."

Buffy shrugged guilty. "It got them gone."

"It wasn't very nice to embarrass Willow like that." he scolded.

Buffy got to her feet and strolled towards him, moving to straddle his thighs. "It wasn't very nice for her to bust in unannounced and interrupt us." she smirked.

Giles looked up at her hungrily for a few seconds, before dragging her mouth down to his.

"Here or upstairs?" Giles asked against her lips.

"Oh, God here." Buffy groaned, lifting herself off him awkwardly, her mouth still pressed to his as she stripped herself of her pants and underwear, while Giles skimmed his own down his thigh.

The moaned into each other's mouths as Buffy sank down onto him, her body clenching around his hardness as he thrust up into her and she rose and sack in time with him. The room filling with their combined scents and voices as they rode the wave before it crashed down on them both, dragging them under. When they finally came up for breath, they slumped warily against each other. They remained there for ten minutes before Giles stood, scooping the slayer into his arms and carrying her up to his bed, which would soon be _their _bed.

**~Don't Lie~**

"So what's your plans for today?" Giles asked, handing Buffy a mug of coffee as he took a seat next to her on the couch.

"Well, I was thinking about dropping in at home, saying hi to mom and then I thought maybe we could take Sam to the park."

Giles smiled. "Sounds great. - What is it?" he asked as he saw her look into her cup.

"A friend from school ask if I wanted to go to a party tonight."

Giles took a sip from his tea. "And?"

"It's a guy friend." she stated cautiously.

Giles brow rose.

"There's nothing going on. I…"

"Buffy, I don't expect you to stop having friends just because we're together. You're young, you need to have fun. Go to the party if you want to."

"Really, you wouldn't be….upset?"

"Not at all."

Buffy slouched into the cushions, looking into her mug.

"But I am terrible jealous." he murmured, shifting closer to her and pressing a kiss to her neck.

Buffy giggled, rolling her eyes as she turned to meet his lips.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy met up with Parker at eight, outside her dorm. She'd tried to get Willow to come too but the Wicca was already heading to another party across town where Oz and the Dingo's were playing. So it was just her and Parker. Which was fine. Really. After all he knew now that she was out of bounds. That she was with someone. They strolled into the house to find the party in full swing, live music ringing off the walls.

"This is some party, huh?" Parker shouted to be heard over the music. "Last days of Rome."

"Better. No old Romans." Buffy replied with a laugh.

"You wanna dance?"

"No. Let's have a meaningful talk instead." the slayer joked as they headed towards the space everyone was using as a dance floor.

She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going so was utterly surprised when she bumped into a familiar face.

"Spike." she sighed. "And Harmony."

"Buffy. Hi." the female greeted. "What a cute outfit. - Last year."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the insult, the girl really hadn't changed beyond the bumps and fangs.

"Well, this is interesting. It's sort of a double date." Spike remarked, shifting his grip on his latest victim he was half carrying.

"Looks like your friend started the party a little early, huh?" Parker remarked, looking instantly at the pale drunken boy being held up but the two blonds.

"Say, let's have a look at the new boy." Spike smirked.

"Hi. I'm Parker." he held out his hand.

"What happened to the old git you were shagging?"

Buffy glared at him, so he turned his attention back to _Parker_.

"I like him." the vamp nodded. "He's got….what's the word? - Vulnerability."

"And you with Harmony. What, did you lose a bet?" Buffy laughed.

"Actually, how we met, it's a funny story really." Spike said before throwing the half dead teen at the slayer and leaping over the couch, Harmony right behind him.

"Stay here." Buffy ordered chasing after the pair.

She ran out into the dark campus, reaching out with her instincts to locate the vamp, she found him when he slammed his fist into the side of her face, sending her staggering back. Buffy reached for Mr Pointy and braced herself for the fight as Harmany rushed up whining. Buffy looked between the pair.

"What's the matter, Spike? Dru dump you again?"

"Maybe I dumped her." he snapped angrily.

"She left him for a fungus demon. That's all he talks about." Harmony sighed.

"Harm! - We are going. - It isn't time yet."

"Yeah. But as soon as we have the Gem of Amara, you're gonna be sorr….What? Ow!"

Buffy watched with mild amusement as Spike dragged Harmony away. She could go after them, but frankly, she just wasn't in the mood and they weren't that big of a threat. Besides, she had to tell Giles about the Gem thing. Turning away from the pair as they vanished into the dark, she headed for the nearest pay phone, dialling Giles's number and filling him in.

**~Don't Lie~**

_ "Yeah, Spike with Harmony. If you can believe it. I couldn't figure out why he ran away, but Harmony said something. Why they were here. They were looking for the Gem of something…um, Amara?"_

Giles stood in his apartment, with the phone under one ear and his son under the other, the smell of baby sick filling his nose. "The Gem of Amara? Are you sure?"

"_Yeah, What's up?"_

"Oh, it's just…it's not real." Giles laughed, strolling with the baby and phone to his bookshelf, and pulling out an old volume. "It's like the vampire equivalent of the Holy Grail. A sourced of some enormous power, always conveniently vague, here it is. Yes. There was a great deal of vampiric interest in locating the Gem during….huh, the 10th century. Questing vampires combed the earth, but no one found it." he dropped the book on the desk top and shifted Sam in his arms, lowering himself down onto the chair by the desk. "It was concluded that it never existed." he said in a quiet voice.

"_Well, Spike seems to think it exists. And he's lookin' in Sunnydale."_

"Yes, well, I'll research it as best I can." he whispered. "You've done all you can for tonight, go have a good time."

"_Giles?"_

"Yes."

"_Why are you whispering?"_

"Because Sam's almost asleep and I don't want to wake him."

"_Sam? You've got Sam? Why?"_

Giles smiled. "You're mum called me, said a friend was in desperate need of her help and asked if I'd take him for a while. I said I'd have him the whole night." he looked down at his son lovingly.

"_Oh. - Do you want me to come…."_

"I'm perfectly capable of looking after my own son Buffy. You just go have a good time, relax. I'll see you in the morning."

"_I may drop by tonight. After the party." _her voice dropped seductively has Giles shifting in his seat.

"Alright. I'll see you later Buffy."

Giles hung up the phone and lent back in the chair, Sam resting against his chest and closed his eyes.

**~BtVS: Don't Lie~**

"Parker. I was afraid I wasn't gonna be able to find you." Buffy said, rushing back into the party, knowing she couldn't just leave him stranded. She'd spend an hour here with him, then head over to Giles and spend the night with him and Sam.

"I was getting a little worried." Parker smiled softly.

"I'm so sorry. It's just…the English guy is an old friend…." she lied. "…and he's not supposed to drink. And I saw him here, you know, in the land of the beer…."

"Buffy, it's okay. You did a good thing for your friend. - Did, uh, you and he used to, like, go out?"

Buffy couldn't hold in the burst of laughter. _Her and Spike. Awe_. _Not in a million years_. "Oh. Um, no. No, we really, really didn't." she said, still laughing while shrugging out of her jacket.

"Good."

Buffy sent him a cautious glance, causing him to shift on his feet and turn to look around the party.

"Now. We have time to make up for. Think I could get a dance with the prettiest girl at the party?"

Something went down Buffy's spine, a warning, but she ignored it. He knew she was off limits, he was just being friendly and flirtatious. _It means nothing_. She told herself. "And what do I do? Just stand here and watch?" she joked, trying to keep the conversation light.

She allowed him to leader her to the dance floor where they swayed easily to the music, before Parker gabbed her a beer and lead her to an empty couch. They sat talking causally, sipping their drinks.

"Well, I declared pre-med, but I hated it. So I switched to history."

Buffy giggled childishly. "History? Fascinating dates and compelling places."

"But there's something amazing about these huge events, that when you dig down into them, they're all about people. Just regular people just trying to make choices."

Buffy listened to his voice, so soft, so enthralling. She watched his lips moved as he spoke and her head swam. She swallowed hard against her pounding heart as he kept talking and tried to shake off the blanket that seemed to be covering her mind, blocking out everything but Parker's voice. She was meant to be somewhere, meant to be going somewhere, meeting someone, but all she could think of was the dark haired man in front of her, his voice drawing her in.

"When you look back, it seems like they were swept up in events they couldn't control. But I don't believe that. You always have a choice with everything you do."

Buffy's breathing became erratic, her head more focused on the soft brown eyes looking deeply into hers. Then she was breathing him in, choking on him as he pressed him mouth to hers. Her heart sped up and her head spun out of control, her stomach rebelling but she couldn't find the strength or the will to push him away.

"Is this okay? Because I could stop if you wanted. It's your choice." he whispered against her lips.

Only it wasn't. she knew it wasn't. Something was pulling her in, something blocking out everything but Parker Abrams, no matter how much her body fought against it, she was drawn back into another kiss.

**~Don't Lie~**

It was well past midnight and he figured Buffy wasn't going to be stopping by, she was probably too tired, so he settled Sam into his travel cot and went back to his books. It didn't take him long to find information on the Gem, and when he did he wished he hadn't. Why must all his sources contradict one another. Grabbing the phone he dialled Buffy's dorm. As much as he wanted to leave her to sleep, she needed to know what he'd found right away. Sadly he got the answer phone. Was she still at the party? Well, if he remembered anything from _his _university day, a party could go all night.

"_Hey, this is Buffy and Willow. We're not in now, so please leave a message."_

"Buffy, are you there? Call me. I need to talk to you right away." he hung up and looked over at the sleeping baby. Hoping Buffy was alright.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy turned over and buried her face in the pillow. Her head was pounding and she felt sick. She groaned at the sunlight invading her sleep and tried to block it out. It was another few minutes before realisations slowly seeped in. She was naked, feeling the sheets stroking her flesh from shoulder to toe. Sighing she moaned out. "Giles?" when there was no answer she opened her heavy lids and tried to focus her blurred vision. Finally she could see straight and turned to look around her. She wasn't at Giles's place, or in her own dorm-room. She shifted up on the bed, grabbing her head as it spun. Where was she? Looking around she could tell it was a boys room and her stomach rolled at the revelation. Shaking her head she pressed the sheet closer to her exposed body, tears pooling in her eyes. She'd cheated? No, she couldn't have. She loved Giles, she would never do anything like this. No. She just passed out in someone's room after the party and….

Wrapping the sheet tight around her she jumped off the bed, going in search of her clothes. She had to get out of here, back to her room.

"Hey, you're up."

Buffy's head snapped around to see Parker stroll in. So she'd passed out in Parker's room. Her stomach clenched painfully and her heart raced. She kept telling herself that what she fear hadn't happened. "Parker?"

"It seemed like you were gonna be out for a while, so I ran for coffee." he said casually, sitting down on the bed.

Buffy stood shock still, staring at him, the sheet still wrapped around her tight. "Wha…"

"It's better than what I've got around here - warm soda and breath mints."

"Parker, what happened last night?" she asked nervously.

The young man looked up at her with confusion. "Huh? We went to a party." he smiled.

"After the party." she looked meaningfully down at herself. "Did we…?"

Parker met her gaze as it lifted. "You don't remember?"

Buffy didn't react.

"Wow, way to damage an ego." Parker joked lightly. "We were at the party, danced, had a couple of beers and then you kissed me and we…" he waved an arm around the room.

"I - _I _kissed _you_?" she shook her head. "No. I…."

"Well, I admit, I kissed you first but you didn't say no and then you kissed be back."

Buffy spun around, her back to the young man as she tried to breath through the blockage in her throat. Tears were already beginning to run down her face.

"I need to go." she said shakily, searching the room once again for her clothes. She dressed as quickly as she could before rushing out of the room without a word of goodbye. She'd barely made it out of the building before she was doubling over to throw up into the nearest trashcan. She couldn't believe she's slept with Parker, she'd cheated on Giles. What had she been thinking? Her head spun and she rested against a bench. How was she going to tell him? First she needed to get out of the clothes, then she needed to shower, get Parker's scent off her. Her skin was crawling as she rushed towards her building and up to her room.

Her heart stopped the moment she heard his voice, spinning around to see Giles sat at Willow's desk, her best friend perched on the edge.

"Giles!" she gasped. "I didn't know you were here." she said nervously, hiding her shaking hands behind her back. "I…um, I was studying. At the library." she lied. Why was she lying? Why didn't she just tell him the truth? Because she didn't know the truth. Her heart clenched tight as she watched him watch her. She could see something in his eyes, a doubt. He knew, he knew what she'd done and he hated her for it.

"Well...can we discuss the impending disaster?"

Buffy remained silent, her brain still muffled.

"Giles found something." Willow informed her.

"A text. If refers to the Gem of Amara as residing in the Valley of the Sun…"

"Demon fancy talk for Sunnydale." Willow translated.

"It seems Spike may know what it's about. The Gem may exist after all, in Sunnydale in a sealed underground crypt."

Buffy tried to breath, to focus. If the Gem was real and Spike wanted it, it meant trouble. But her mind couldn't see past her betrayal of the man she loved, or the way he was looking at her like he knew. Swallowing hard, she push on her slayer mask, deal with Spike, then Giles.

"Why don't you guys try and locate the crypt? I'll see if I can find Spike before he gets there."

Giles got to his feet and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. "I'll get started."

"I'll tell Xander and Oz to meet at your place." Willow said, following after him.

The moment the pair were gone, Buffy dropped down on the bed, her whole body shaking.

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles stared down at the books but he could really concentrate. Something was wrong, not with Spike and the Gem but with Buffy. She hadn't turned up at his place the previous night and she clearly hadn't slept in her room, so where had she been? His gut knew the answer but his heart couldn't accept it. Buffy wasn't like that, she could never have cheated on him. Unless she still believed he'd cheated on her. - No. They'd sorted that out, she knew Olivia had only been a friend. Maybe she was getting tired of him? Maybe they were rushing into this whole living together thing? Maybe this was her way of subtly telling him she didn't want to do this any more.

He was drawn from his thoughts by Oz's voice.

"Ok, either I'm borrowing all your albums or I'm movin' in."

"Might get a little crowded with Giles, Buffy and Sam." Willow joked from the desk.

"There are more important things than records right now." Giles murmured, forcing back the pain that suddenly radiated through his chest.

"More important than this one?" Oz asked, holding up a vintage vinyl.

"I suppose an argument could be made for…"

"Whoa! Giles has a TV!" Xander suddenly announced, shoving boxes out of the way. "Everybody, Giles has a TV! He's shallow, like us!" the teenager said a little too excitedly.

"I gotta admit, a little disappointed." Oz said, settling on the arm of the couch next to Giles.

"Maybe it doesn't work." Willow said in a panic. "It's like, art."

The room was filled with the sound of a news reporters voice as Xander switched it on and dropped down in front of it, like a four year old.

"Public television." Giles defended. "Look, come on, we have vital work to do. Watching television won't help us right now."

As if to prove him wrong the reporter drew all their attention to a cave in near the Sunnydale campus. _"City work crews deny that any tunnelling had been done in the area."_

"Tunnelling." Oz repeated.

"Spike." Giles announced. "Come on. - Xander, find Buffy and meet us there."

The gang rushed out of the apartment.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy searched the whole campus, throwing herself into finding Harmony and Spike, but with no luck. What she did find however was Parker. He was talking to some girl, giving her the same live for today line he'd fed her two nights go. Her insides clenched as she realised she'd been played. - Then there was anger.

"Parker?" she said, interrupting him.

"Buffy. - Buffy Summers, this is Katie Loomis." he introduced.

"We need to talk." Buffy said with a harsh warning tone.

Parker turned to the girl. "Hey, Katie, you're gonna be late for class. I'll catch up later, okay."

Buffy watched the other blond smile and leave. "She a friend of yours?"

"Yeah. You'd like her a bunch. - So, what's up?"

Buffy fixed him with a stare. "Last night. I want to know what happened."

Parker frowned. "I told you."

"No. I mean really happened. I wouldn't have slept with you. I love my boyfriend, I'd never have cheated. _Never_."

Parker looked at her with what she could only describe as mock sympathy. "Well, I can promise you we did sleep together."

Buffy glared at him dangerously. "What did you do?"

Parker looked at her oddly. "Do?"

"You must have done _something_? I wouldn't have cheated on Giles." she was beginning to sound desperate, he needed someone to blame.

"Buffy." Parker said, his hand resting on her shoulder. "I'm sorry your feeling guilty and everything, but…I swear, I didn't do a thing. It was your choice."

Buffy glared at him and he backed off.

"I hope we can still be friends." he said before rushing away, leaving Buffy alone with her guilt.

At least until she was sideswiped by a certain bleach blond vampire.

"Isn't it a fantastic day? Birds singin, squirrels making lots of rotten little squirrels, sun beamin down in a nice, non-fatal way. It's very exciting. Can't wait to see if I freckle."

Buffy leapt to her feet, attacking the vamp, thrusting the stake into his chest only to find it not working.

"Oh, do it again. It tickles. You know, in a good way."

"The Gem."

"Oh, yeah. - The Gem of Amara." he punched her hard, knocking the slayer to the ground. "Official sponsor of my killing you."

Buffy fought for her life, knowing she had to get the ring away from Spike in order to kill him. She channeled all her anger and guilt into each punch, but found herself fighting a losing battle.

"Getting tired, Slayer?"

Buffy scrabbled to her feet as Xander rushed into the fray, only to be flung into a nearby post.

"So, you let Parker-boy take a poke, eh?"

Buffy swallowed, frowning at him. Spike tapped his nose.

"Can smell it, didn't seem like you knew each other that well? - And with you and the old watcher, I never would have imagined. So what exactly did it take to pry apart the Slayer's dimpled knees?"

"You're a pig, Spike." she snapped.

The vampire hit her again, sending her into the ground once more.

"Did he play the sensitive lad and get _you _to seduce _him_? That's a good trick if the girl's thick enough to buy it. I wonder what Giles is going to say when he finds out? - I'll be sure to tell him when I've killed you. Give him something to remember you by."

Buffy was flooded with anger. She rushed at the vamp, blow after blow until she was about to get him cornered, twisting his arm back to grab the ring.

"Take it off me this way, we both burn."

"Really? Let's see." She yanked the ring from his finger, stepping back to watch the vamp cry in pain, his flesh blistering under the sun before he ran away.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy sat awkwardly in Giles living room. She couldn't look him in the eye so she concentrated on the ring she'd retrieved from Spike. She'd already decided what she wanted to do with it. There was only one person who she trusted to guard the ring.

"It's obviously very dangerous. Destroying it would…."

"We don't destroy it." she said, her gaze fixed to the floor.

"But, Buffy, any vampire that gets his hands on this is going to be essentially unkillable….Oh."

She glanced up to meet her watcher turned lovers gaze and instantly wished she hadn't.

"I have that gig in LA. I could swing by." Oz said helpfully.

"Thanks, Oz."

"What's goin' on? What's in LA?" Xander asked confused.

"She's giving the ring to Angel, don't make a fuss." Willow informed him softly.

"Buffy, are you sure?" Giles asked with growing concern. "If he…."

"If he turns again, we'll be the first to know, and I'll….do what I have to. But he won't. - He should have it."

A uncomfortable silence fell over the room for a few long minutes.

"Well, we're going." Willow announced, leaping to her feet.

Buffy got up from the footstall she'd been sitting on.

"Your going too?" Giles asked.

"Yeah. - I…I've got class….work. And I'm tired. - I'll see you tomorrow." she pressed a kiss to his cheek and headed for the door.

Giles exchanged looks with Willow, who shrugged and that painful feeling rose in his gut again.

**~Don't Lie~**

Back in her dorm, Buffy sat on her bed, legs folded under her. Willow was asleep but she couldn't, Parker's face haunting her, Spike words taunting her. She pulled out her diary, needing to put it down on paper, hoping that doing so would get it out of her head. She write about the whole thing, about her supcions, about her guilt._**So what I'm wondering is, will Giles ever forgive me if he discovers the truth? Even if I'm right and Parker did something to make me sleep with him. I still slept with him. How could Giles ever forgive that? Parker said it's okay to make mistakes, it was sweet at the time, now I know it's not okay, people get hurt. - There's only one thing I can do. I need to end it, I have no other option.**_


	4. Worst Fears

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episode - Fear, Itself and Beer, Bad.**

* * *

**Worst Fears**

"What do you think Buffy?" Xander asked, turning his pumpkin to face the slayer.

"I was just thinking about the life of a pumpkin. Grow up in the sun, happily entwined with others, and then someone comes along, cuts you open and rips your guts out." the slayer said, squeezing at the mashed pumpkin innards.

"Ok. And on that happy note, got a treat for tomorrow night's second annual Halloween screening." Xander got to his feet and rushed to his bag. "People, prepare to have your spines tingled and your goose bumped by the terrifying….Fantasia."

"Maybe it's the horrific things we've seen, but hippos wearing tutus don't unnerve me the way they used to." Oz commented.

"Phantasm! It was supposed to be Phantasm!" Xander insisted. "Stupid video store."

"I thought we were doing the Alpha-Delt thing?" Willow asked, finishing off her pumpkin.

"What thing?"

"The scary house?" Buffy frowned. She hadn't been to a campus party in over a week, they tended to being back too many bad memories. She also hadn't worked up the courage to talk to Giles. It was kind of ridiculous when she thought about it. She could face off against vampires, werewolves and demons but there were two people that terrified the hell out of her. Giles and her Mom. At least she wouldn't have to have the talk with her mom about her relationship with Giles. Because there wasn't going to be a relationship for much longer. "Sounds kinda lame." she sighed.

"But it boarder on fun. You go thought the scary-house maze to get to the party, which is worth getting to." Oz informed them. "Those guys go all out."

"As witnessed last Friday." Willow grinned.

"There's a party?" Xander asked.

"We didn't tell you?"

"No, that's cool. You guys got your little college thing. I'm fine. I mean, I got better things to do than tag along to some fraternity…"

"You can come." Willow said, cutting of her best friend.

"Ok." the teen grinned. "Only because I lied about having better things to do."

"Blast will be had by all." Oz nodded.

Buffy rolled off Xander bed and got to her feet with a sigh. She was tired again, she always seemed to be tired laterly. "I'm gonna get going."

"Now? The night's still…" Xander looked at his watch. "Okay, it's a little mature, but still."

"I'm sleepy. You guys have fun."

"You want me to come with?" Willow asked with concern.

"No. I'm fine." she sent them all smiles before making her way to the stairs.

Xander looked between his friends. "Okay, any idea what's wrong with her lately?"

Willow shook her head. "She's been like that for almost a week. All she does is study, sleep and patrol. She hasn't stayed over at Giles once."

"Think they had a fight?" Oz asked.

"Buff and the G-man, fight? Have you seen them." Xander shook his head, before growing concerned. "You think?"

Willow shrugged. "It would explain her downness. - She didn't even touch her pumpkin. It's a freak with no face."

"It definitely sounds like post-break up depression." Oz murmured.

"See. See. I know this was going to happen. He was going to break her heart and then everything was going to be weird. I mean how are we meant to act around him now? Who are we going to go to when the weird stuff starts happening?" Xander ranted in a panic.

"Office romances, never good." Oz shook his head.

"Maybe they'll work it out. They have to. - For Sam's sake." Willow said desperately.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy and Willow strolled into the cafeteria the next afternoon chatting causally. The slayer though she was doing a good job at acting normal. She'd almost told Willow a dozen times what had happened, but she just couldn't seem to force the words out of her throat. He didn't want to see the disappointment in her best friends eyes. And Willow would be disappointed in her, the Wicca looked up to Giles like a father. She'd never forgive her for cheating on him.

She was standing with Willow and Oz, listening to them being all slushy, reminding her what she was going to lose. When a laugh caught her attention. She glanced over to see Parker, sat with some friends on the far table. He was acting like nothing had happened, like he hadn't just ruined her life.

"You know, um…I forgot to….be hungry." she said in a panic, leaving her lunch on the counter and rushing from the dinning hall.

"Buffy!" Willow called after her, catching up to her, he forced her to turn and look at her. "What's wrong? - Have you and Giles…Have you guys broken up?"

Buffy looked at her friend, tears pooling in her eyes, swallowing them back she looked at her feet. "It's complicated."

"Buffy, you can talk to me, you know that right?"

She wished she could, she really did.

"Come to the party tonight."

Buffy shook her head. "I'm gonna patrol."

"Tonight? But…it's Halloween." Willow frowned.

"I know, but well….you know, we weren't prepared last time. Beside, I want to spend time with Sam - I'll….see you later. Have a good time." with that she turned and marched away. Her friends gaze burning into her back.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Happy Hall…"

"What have you done?" demanded the red head.

Giles frowned down at her. "Pardon?" the older man stepped back to let the young woman in.

Willow marched past him. "She's miserable. Whatever you did, fix it."

"Willow, I haven't _done _anything. I haven't even seen Buffy in a week." he said regretfully. "She barely even returns my calls."

"And you didn't think that was strange?" Willow snapped. "Can you take that off."

"Oh." Giles swept the large sombrero off his head. "Of course I did, but…." he trailed off, strolling over to his couch. "I can't make her talk to me, I'm not her watcher anymore."

"No, you're her boyfriend…person." Willow said angrily. "Something's seriously wrong with her Giles."

The older man hung his head and sighed warily. He had his suspicious but he didn't want to share them.

"What do you know?" Willow asked, clearly sensing he was hiding something.

"I don't _know _anything."

"But you have a theory. Is it another demon thing? Is she possessed?"

"No, I don't believe so."

"So what? Giles, talk to me."

The older man fell back against the cushions and looked up at the young woman, meeting her gaze with tired eyes. "I think….she may have found someone else."

"What?" Willow frowned.

"She's been strange ever since that party last week."

Realisation dawned on Willow's face and she dropped down onto the footstall. "The one she went too with Parker." she murmured. "You think she and him…."

Giles swallowed and dropped his gaze.

"_No way_. She wouldn't. Giles she loves you, she would never have slept with someone else. Especially not Parker."

He looked at her unconvinced. "Have you got a better explanation?"

Willow sat there, wracking her brain, trying to think of something but coming up with nothing. She shook her head. "I can't believe she..."

"Maybe she didn't mean for it to happen. I remember what it's like, being young." he sighed sadly. "And it was only a matter of time till she found someone her own age."

"Giles, she loves you. I know she does."

"That's doesn't mean anything Willow. He loved Angel once." he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy sat on the floor of her mom's living room, with Sam, playing with some toys and for the first time in weeks Buffy was actually smile. Of course it was hard not to smile around her son. The only thing that made the moment a little uncomfortable was when she looked into his eyes and saw Giles.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" her mom asked from the couch.

"Though I'd stay here, if that's alright. Spend some time with Sam and you."

Joyce frowned. "Buffy, you've been dropping by everyday this week. You are allowed to have fun you know."

"This is fun." she smiled at Sam, tickling him and giggling when he laughed.

"I know, but….Buffy, it's Halloween. I know it's been a while since I was at college but I remember Halloween was a pretty big party night."

Buffy shrugged. "I guess, I'm just not the party type."

"Since when?" Joyce laughed.

"I just don't get the campus party thing. It's just a load of kids getting drunk and make fools out of themselves, and doing things they'll regret in the morning."

Joyce looked at her daughter intently. "That sound like your talking from experience. - Buffy…" she moved to join her on the floor. "…as much as I don't want to think about you having a love life, you are still young. I know you're probably still healing after your break up with Angel but if you meet someone and…well, you know. There's nothing wrong with that."

Buffy wanted to say there was something very wrong with that, as she was meant to be in a relationship. Instead she bit her lip and nodded.

"Go to a party. I'm sure Willow and Xander will go with you to make sure you don't do anything….silly."

Buffy thought it was too later. Where were they a week ago. "I don't have a costume." she said hoping that would end the conversation. No such luck.

"I'm sure we can put something together." Joyce smiled, getting to her feet and heading for the stairs.

Two hours later, Buffy was stood by the front door dressed as little red riding hood and feeling like she was about to be dragged to hell. Joyce smiled at her warmly.

"What do you think Sam? Does mommy look good?" the older woman asked her grandson.

The baby made a giggling noise. Buffy smiled at him and surrendered, stepping forward she pressed a kiss to his forehead and whispered a goodnight, before heading off to meet her doom.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy met up with her friends outside the Alpha-Delt house. Xander dressed in a tuxedo, supposedly in case they were turned into their costumes, like they had been two years ago. His hope being that he'd be James Bond, while Buffy figured he'd be more likely to think he was a headwaiter. Willow arrived dressed armour, obviously with the same fear as Xander, proclaiming herself as Joan of Arc, while Oz dressed in his usual everyday clothes wore a name tag stating he was God. They headed for the party and were surprised when they almost bumped into a couple of guys dressed as commando's, Buffy figured they'd definitely survive the whole turning into your costume problem.

As predicted the house was pretty lame. "Terrifying. If I were Abbott and Costello, this would be fairly traumatic." Buffy said sarcastically.

Of course she had to go and speak too soon as out of nowhere a large spider crawled up Willows arm. Things got worst from there, cause it wouldn't be a Scooby Halloween without something going evil.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy stared up at the ceiling from the basement floor. She had no idea how she'd gotten there, or any idea where the others were. How many times had she told Xander not to walk off. She groaned as she tried to get to her feet, but froze as a voice came out of the shadows.

"All alone."

"Who said… that?"

Buffy stared as Parker moved out of the shadow.

"Don't fret, little girl. You're not alone." Parker said.

Buffy screamed as hands burst through the basement floor, grabbing her, holding her down.

"No matter how hard you fight, you just end up in the same place. I don't see why you bother." Parker taunted. "He'll never want you now. You know that don't you?"

Buffy fought to get free, kicking and scratching at the hands. She scrambled towards the far wall, seeing the door and her freedom in the darkness.

"You keep making the same mistake, don't you? - You keep giving into that desire. First with him, then with me. It'll never stop. You'll never be normal. And who wants to be with a freak."

Buffy was almost there, she tried not to listen, focusing solely on the door in front of her. Finally she reached it, bursting through to finder herself in the attic. Getting to her feet she made her way through the room. A ton of party goers cowered in the corners.

"Oz?"

"Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me!"

"Willow! Willow!" Buffy said, trying to calm her best friend.

"What's wrong?" Oz asked, grabbing the red head by the shoulders.

"Couldn't get 'em off…"

"It's okay." Oz reassured, pulling her into a hug. "It's okay. We're okay."

"We're not okay. We need to get out of here." Buffy said.

"I'd offer my opinion but you jerks aren't gonna hear it." Xander murmured from a couch where he sat rocking back and forth. "Not that Didn't Go To Collage Boy had anything important to say. I might as well hang out with Bleeding Dummy Head…"

"What is wrong with you?" Buffy snapped.

"You…you heard that? You can see me?" Xander asked excitedly, leaping off the couch. "Good. Oh, God, good!"

"The house separated us. Like it wanted to scare us." Buffy informed them.

"But…we got away." Willow smiled nervously.

"No. We were brought here. We all got so scared that we ended up here. Why?" Buffy murmured, looking down at the occult symbol painted on the attic floor.

"I saw them painting that. They were copying out of…" Xander glanced around before seeing the old book and grabbing it. "That!"

Willow snatched to book from him. "I think it's Gaelic."

"Can you translate?"

_Release…me…!" _A voice echoed through the house. _"Release me!"_

"Will, give me something."

"Okay. Um…the icon's called the Mark of Gachnar. I think this is a summoning spell for something called…"

"Gachnar." Xander put in.

"Well, yes. Somehow the beginning of the spell must've been triggered. Gachnar's trying to manifest itself to….to come into being."

"How?"

"It feeds on fear."

Buffy swallowed. "Our fears are manifesting. We're feeding it. We need to stop."

"If we close our eyes and say it's just a dream, it'll stab us to death! These things are real."

"Okay, so our fears are feeding it. If we get everyone out of here…"

"Good plan. Let's go!" Xander said, rushing to the door and screaming as it burst open. "Giles? Hey, everyone, it's Giles! With a chain saw."

Buffy stared at him.

"The wall's closed up behind us." Giles said, dropping the chain saw and headed for Willow and the book she was holding. "Gachnar. Of course."

"Its presence infects the reality of the house but it's not achieved full manifestation. We cannot allow this to come into being." he said sternly.

"But if it does, I can fight it, right?" Buffy asked from his side.

"Buffy, this is Gachnar." he said, showing her the illustration.

"I don't wanna fight that. - So we break the spell."

"The summoning spell for Gachnar can be shut down in one of two ways." Giles began to read. "destroying the Mark of Gachnar…."

Buffy marched past him, slamming her fist hard as she could into the symbol and yanking the boards away.

"…is not one of the ways, and will immediately bring forth the fear demon itself." Giles finished.

"Whoops." Buffy shrugged apologetically.

The room shook as the portal opened, a loud horrific roar echoing off the walls. Buffy glanced at Giles as they waiting for the fear demon to appear. To say that the fanfair didn't live up to the show would be an understated me.

"This is Gachnar?" Buffy smirked, staring down at the tiny demon.

"_Big _overture. _Little _show." Xander laughed.

"I am the Dark Lord of Nightmares!" Gachnar announced. "The bringer of terror. Tremble before me."

Buffy bit back a laugh.

"Fear me!" it demanded.

"He…he's so cute!" Willow cooed.

"Who's a little fear demon? Come on! Who's a little fear demon!" mocked Xander.

"Don't taunt the fear demon." Giles scolded in his best dad voice.

"Why, can he hurt me?"

"No. It's just…tacky. Be that as it may, Buffy, when it comes to slaying…"

"Size doesn't matter?"

"They're all going to abandon you, you know." Gachnar said before Buffy's foot crashed down onto him.

"So everyone back to G-man's place for candy and debrief?" Xander said excitedly as they strolled out for the frat house.

"I thinking I'm going to head home, too much excitement for me."

Everyone glanced at Giles who stood watching Buffy intently. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. - Unless there's something else…."

"No." Giles said instantly.

Buffy looked up at Giles guiltily for a brief second before wishing her friends farewell and walking off in the direction of her dorm.

"Okay, what's going on?" Xander asked, looking to Giles, arms folded over his chest.

Giles watched the slayer turn a dark corner then turned on his heel and walked away without a word, the scooby's stood uncomfortably between the two departing figures.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Rough day?" Xander announced waving a lighter in front of Buffy.

The slayer looked up at her friend with a mix of confusion and irritation.

"Come on, Buff, be a lonely drunk. - Rough day?" he asked again.

"Stop flicking at me." she warned.

"Work with me here. I'm finally an essential part of your collegey life. No more looking down on the townie. I'm the new bartender over at the pub. Got my lighter, my rag, my empathy face." he demonstrated.

"Aren't you too young to be a bartender?"

"Au contraire, non frere."

"Mon frere, means brother." Buffy corrected; her eyes locked on the text book in front of her.

"Mon girl frere. Behold."

"I don't believe this is entirely on the up and up." Willow stated, glancing at Xander's ID card.

"What gives it away?"

"Looking at it."

"Well, no one's gonna see it anyway. Now _I'm _the bartender. I kick people out." Xander announced proudly.

"You know there's more to it than wiping and kicking?" Buffy frowned up at him from her psych paper. "Mixing drinks, for instance?"

"I've seen Cocktail. I can do the hippy hippy shake."

"Even if I had a pretend cigarette, I couldn't tell you my pretend problems. Real ones have clogged up my head space." she sighed, turning back to her work.

"Ooh. Then unload 'em right here, baby." Xander took a seat across from the slayer, once again waving his lighter in front of her. "Rough day? You wanna talk about it?"

Buffy sent him a dangerous glare.

It had only been two weeks since the incident with Parker and she still couldn't shake the guilt and shame. Avoiding Giles wasn't making things any easier and she knew her friends had guessed something was up. She'd caught Willow looking at her with that deeply concerned look she had. She desperately wanted to talk to her, tell her what she'd done but she couldn't find the words, or the time. - Though the time thing was mainly because she was throwing herself into her class work in order to distract herself.

What made things worse was that she seemed to see Parker everywhere she turned, always with a different girl, giving them the same lines he'd spun her. It made her furious. Couldn't they see what he was like? Of course not, she hadn't. Despite Willow's warnings, she'd thought he was a nice guy, that he understood the boundaries. That was another reason she hadn't told Willow. She didn't want to hear the 'I told you so.'.

"You know what? It's class time." Buffy sighed, getting to her feet.

"Are you gonna come by tonight, to the pub?"

"Oz. Bronze. Date."

Willow and Xander followed after the retreating slayer, once again sharing concerned looks at her silence. For days they'd been trying to get her to open up, to tell them what was wrong, but she never did. She kept to herself and her room, only venturing out to patrol and spend time with Sam at her mom's place. They knew she hadn't spoken or seen Giles in almost a week, not since the Halloween madness. Buffy distance was having an equally detrimental effect on the ex-watcher who'd buried himself in his book, barely coming up for air.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy strolled into the campus pub, unsure what she was even doing there. She just needed to get out of her dorm. Xander had started work at the pub so she figured it would only be right for her to go and support him. She turned the corner into the bar and instantly caught sight of Parker. It was just typical that he'd be there, he was everywhere after all. Deciding to put him out of her mind, at least for one night, she turned towards the bar and bumped right into someone.

"Oh!"

"Whoa!"

She looked up to she her TA. "Oh, Riley, So sorry."

"It's okay. You know, most people go around. I'm not saying you can't tunnel through me, but the other way is quicker."

"In my defence, you do take up a lot of space." Buffy laughed blandly.

"I do. I'm ungainly." Riley nodded.

A laugh from across the room caught Buffy's attention and she was staring at Parker again. Anger and disgust bubbling up in her stomach.

"You looking for someone?"

"I just saw Parker over there."

Riley rolled his eyes. "Right. Parker and his latest conquest. That boy should have his attention span checked."

"He'd kind of a girl chaser, huh?" Buffy frowned up at the TA.

"Set 'em up and knocks 'em down. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but my father says if you wanna be a gentleman, you…don't even care what my father says."

"I'm sorry. What?" Buffy frowned, pulling her attention away from Parker.

"Forget about it. You know, I've got some people waiting. I'll see you in class, right?"

Buffy nodded, her gaze locked on Parker against as he got up from his seat with the girl. She couldn't help but wonder if she had a boyfriend too. It wasn't like that would stop the jerk from making the move.

Feeling the weight crashing down on her once more, she headed for the bar, taking a seat.

"Buffy? - Rough day? Wanna tell me about it?"

The weight was too much, far too much.

"It's just…" she sighed. "I screwed up Xand. - I didn't mean to…but I did. And now….I can't look Giles in the face. - I should have listened to Willow, I should have known what he was." She knew she wasn't making much sense, but she didn't care, she just needed to talk. "If he were tied and gagged and left in a cave that vampires happened to frequent, it wouldn't really be like I killed him, really."

"Buffy?"

"I'm a slut." she whispered with tears in her eyes.

"Buffy, what's happened?"

"No, I'm an idiot."

"Buffy, did something happen between you and Giles? Did he hurt you."

The slayer shook her head vigorously.

"Hey." he boss called from the other end of the bar.

Xander turned with a moan. "Sorry. So sorry. - Do not go anywhere, we'll talk. Promise."

Buffy gave him a small smile as he rushed back to work.

She sat there for a few minutes before she decided not to wait for Xander. Swirling around on her seat she moved away from the bar only to bump into another person. "Ooh! Oh, I am so sorry. I just…I seem to be bumping into people today."

"I can't imagine anybody minding." the guy smiled. "You're not thinking of leaving, are you? Cause we have a very strict policy against you leaving. At least until you've had a drink."

Buffy shifted under the guys flirtation. He seemed nice enough, but then so had Parker.

"Yeah. What my friend's just saying is, you shouldn't be sad and alone right now…" another guys chimed in. "I mean, you're a very beautiful girl who should be covered with men. - And could we be those men?"

Another guy stepped forward, holding out a mug of beer. "It's on us."

Buffy wasn't sure why she'd accepted, maybe she just needed to forget. So an hour later she was sat at a table chugging down beer with four guys. Listening to them spout things she didn't understand.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Buff, have you heard of this Veruca chick? Dresses like Faith, voice like an albatross." Willow asked returning from a night at Oz's.

"TV is a good thing. Bright colours. Music."

Willow frowned over at her friend who looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge by a gang of vampires.

"Tiny little people."

"What have you done with Buffy?"

"I'm suffering the afterness of a bad night of…badness."

Willow's frowned deepened. "What happened? Buffy, I know the break up with Giles has…"

Buffy scoffed. "Not broken up with Giles. - But will."

"Do you wanna talk about it? - Why are you breaking up with Giles?"

"Not breaking up. He break up with me."

Willow settled on the edge of the slayers desk. "Huh? Giles hasn't…."

"When he finds out about Parker. Giles break up with me."

"Parker? What about Parker?"

"He deserves a torturous and slow death by spider bites." Buffy murmured, zoning out.

"Buffy, talk to me. What did Parker do?"

"Need to go to class." the slayer said, getting up out of her chair and heading for the door.

"Huh, Buffy, might want to get dressed first."

Willow spent the rest of the day watching Buffy with growing concern. After Buffy stole a sandwich from a girl in class, she decided she needed answers, but she got distracted when she rushed off to talk to fellow student. A decision she would later regret.

**~Don't Lie~**

Xander stood at the bar watching Buffy drink with her new group of friends. There was something most definitely up with her lately, he just wished he knew what it was. He had a feeling that an intervention was going to be necessary at some point, especially if she continued to drink the way she was. He'd already cut them off but somehow the beer just kept coming. Sighing he headed over to the jukebox.

"Hey!" Buffy yelled, running over to him. "It sings." she grinned childishly, climbing over the machine. "Like it.

"It's time to go home, Buffy." Xander said firmly, dragging the slayer away from the jukebox.

"Want more singing. Want more beer!" she demanded.

"No, I've cut you off."

"Did it hurt?"

"Out you go." Xander said, carrying the slayer to the door.

"Ooh! Ow! Want beer. Like beer. Beer good."

"Beer bad. Bad, bad beer." Xander said, trying to get the woman through the door. "What the hell am I saying? Buffy, go home and go to bed."

The slayer glared up at him and Xander suddenly felt uneasy with his show of dominance.

"Say bye!" Buffy demanded, pushing painfully at his shoulder.

"Bye."

"Bye."

He watched her leave and heading back to work.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Parker?"

"Willow, hey."

The red head towered over the young man with a stern look on her face. "What did you do to Buffy?"

Parker frowned. "I don't get what you mean. What did I do?"

"She's been weird for weeks, she's not talking, she spends all her time in her room or the library, and if you knew Buffy you'd know that was weird. - And she's not talking to Giles, her boyfriend. So what did you do?"

"Willow, I'm not sure I need to explain my actions here, but if that's what you want…"

"Yes, followed by an admission of undeniable guilt. Go on." she took a seat across from him.

Parker met her gaze. "Buffy and I went to the Wolf house party, we had a good time. We had a thing. It didn't mean anything, we were both a little drunk."

"But she has a boyfriend. You knew she had one."

Parker sighed and rolled his eyes. "Willow, tons of students have boyfriends and girlfriends, from High School, but this is college, those ties don't always last."

Willow sat glaring in horror, her fears for her own relationship ringing in the back of her mind. "Buffy would never…Buffy's not like that, she'd never cheat on Giles. - They have a kid together."

Parker shrugged. "I don't know what to say. You clearly underestimated your friend."

"No. You said she was drunk." Willow snapped, leaping out of her chair. "You took advantage of her when she was vulnerable."

"Willow, Buffy kissed me, I gave her the choice, and she choose to sleep with me. I'm sorry if she can't handle that decision now, but that's not my fault."

Willow glared angrily at him. "Of course it's your fault. You know she was drunk, you should have said no. You should have taken her home or called me or someone." she shook her head. "But you didn't. You saw your chance and you took it. You had your eye on her for weeks. Don't think I didn't know. - Buffy made a bad decision, maybe. But you...what you did..." she growled, unable to finish her sentense through the anger.

**~Don't Lie~**

Xander called Giles the instant he'd realised what his boss had done to the beer. His head was still ringing from being knocked out by Buffy's new 'cavemen' friends.

"I cut her off. She didn't drink as much." Xander was telling the ex-watcher as they hurried to Buffy's room.

"I can't believe you served Buffy that beer." Giles scolded, worry eating at his insides.

"I didn't know it was evil."

"You knew it was beer."

"Excuse me, Mr I-spent-the-60's-in-an-electric-kool-aid-funky-Sat an-groove."

Giles glared at him. "Early 70's, and you should know better."

"I'm not the dad of her. Buffy's a grown-up. She's intelligent enough to…"

Giles opened the door to find Buffy drawing on her bedroom wall with lipstick.

"Parker bad." She announced, hitting the wall furiously, glancing at the door as it opened.

"Fascinating, really." Giles murmured as the slayer leapt off the bed, rushing to the TV.

"Want people. Where people go?"

"The TV is off." Giles said firmly, like he was talking to a child.

Buffy stared at him instensly.

"She doesn't appear to be in any immediate danger. Maybe you should stay with…..Ahhh."

Giles hit the ground painfully, Buffy resting on his chest. "Smell nice." she grunted, rubbing her nose into Giles neck.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Xander joked.

Giles shot him an irritated look. "Buffy, Buffy, you ne…."

The slayers mouth crashed down on his, her body pressing seductiveally against him. Giles pulled back reluctantly, his head snapping around to fix Xander with a pleading look.

"Jack said the effects of the beer would wear off."

"Beer?" Buffy groaned. "Buffy want beer."

"No. You can't have beer." Giles replied beneath her.

"Want beer!"

"Giles, don't make Cave Slayer unhappy."

"Buffy strong."

"Yes, Buffy strong." the ex-watcher said, shifting under the young woman's intense threatening stare.

"Buffy get beer."

Giles grabbed her arms as she tried to get away. "Buffy get…"

Buffy rolled them over and shoved Giles into the far wall.

"Giles!" Xander rushed to help as Buffy ran from the room.

"I'm fine. Just get her."

Xander ran out after the slayer to find the corridor empty.

"Check down there. Find her before someone gets hurt." Giles said, rubbing at the bump quickly appearing on the back of his head.

Xander located Buffy quicker than he expected, stood in the middle of the campus looking around, lost. "Can't find the beer. Good. Freshman girl not able to hold the beer. Shouldn't have it. Get into trouble."

Buffy grunted at him.

"Hey, hey! We're good. - Is there any part of Buffy still in there?"

Buffy turned her head away from him, sniffing the air. "Fire bad!"

Xander raced after the retreating slayer as they headed towards where the smell of smoke was coming from. He glanced around wondering where Giles was. Reaching the coffee shop, Xander stood back as Buffy went inside. Slowly the other cavemen were helped out through a small window, as well as some girls and finally Willow.

"Are you alright?"

"Buffy's still in there." she said desperately.

"What's happening?"

They turned to see Giles hurrying towards them.

"They started a fire. Buffy's still in there."

"What!" Giles snapped.

Just as the ex-watcher was about to go for the door, the sound of sirens ringing in the air, Buffy reappeared, dragging an unconscious guy behind her.

"Buffy tired."

Giles wrapped an arm around the slayer, leading her way from the burning building, to a nearby bench.

"And was there a lesson in all this, huh? What did we learn about beer?" Xander asked.

"Foamy." Buffy announced.

"Good. Just as long as that's clear." Xander nodded. "Anyways, I think the boys in the car are contained for the time being."

Buffy leapt off the bench and walked over to her cave buddies.

"It'll give 'em time to ponder the geopolitical ramifications of being mean to me!" Xander snapped.

"Whose van is that?" Giles asked.

"I don't know, it wasn't locked."

"Are you alright?" the ex-watcher said, sitting down with the ash stained Willow.

"Fine, tired. Sore throat. - Giles…"

"Yes."

"About Buffy…."

"What about her." he frowned, glancing in her direction.

"I…I think you were right, about….you know, why she's been weird." Willow cringed as Giles face paled. "but I don't think it's as simple as you think. I don't think…."

They all turned at they heard a crack, and found Buffy hovering over the young man she'd dragged from the fire. Once again unconscious, a large branch in her hand, raised over his to attack again. Xander and Giles exchanged looks before rushing over to grab her as she brought down the wood. Giles wrapped his arms tight around Buffy's waist, dragging her was.

"You need to talk to her." Willow whispered from his side, her eyes sympathetically settling on the slumpped for of her best friend.

Giles looked down at her with confusion and concern, before glancing over to the battered unconcious teenager. A black hole opening up in his stomach.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy woke up the next morning with a moan, her head spinning, she felt sick to her stomach. Groaning she rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. She'd expected to see Willow laying across from her, instead it was Giles.

"Afternoon." he said softly. "I brought you coffee and painkillers but…the coffee's stone cold."

Moaning again Buffy shifted up in the bed. "Where's Willow?"

"With Oz I would imagine. How are you feeling?"

"My mouth tastes like a monkey's armpit and my head is throbbing."

Giles got up and retrieved some water, handing it over with the _Aspirin_.

"Thanks."

Giles returned to his seat on Willow's bed. "We need to talk." He said once Buffy had taken the pills.

Buffy sighed, she knew this was coming. "Yes."

"Willow told me what happened Buffy."

The slayers head snapped around with a confused stare. "She did? How did she….?"

"She talked to the…..young man in question. He told her."

"Oh." she dropped her gaze shamefully.

Giles shifted. "I need you to tell me what happened Buffy."

"I though Willow…."

"I need to hear it from you. All of it."

Buffy released a wary sigh. "I slept with someone else."

Giles swallowed hard at the confession. "W-what ha-happened?"

Buffy shrugged. "I - I don't know. I don't remember." her voice broke. "One minute I was chasing Spike, then I talking to Parker, then I woke up in his bed with no memory of what happened. - I'm so sorry Giles."

The older man moved to sit next to Buffy. "You don't remember anything? Had you been drinking?"

"I…" she shrugged. "I must have, but I only remember having one…maybe two."

Giles frowned, turning to look at the floor. His jaw clenched tight in anger. Buffy watched him, tears rolling down her face.

"I know you hate me. I hate myself." she murmured.

Giles swung around, taking hold of her shoulders. "I don't hate you Buffy. - I never could. And you shouldn't hate yourself. I….I don't think you were to blame for what happened. I suspect that….he took advantage. And when I get my hands on him…."

"No." Buffy's hand shot out and she sighed. "Giles, no. Please. It was as much my fault as it was his."

"Buffy, he…."

She shook her head. "Willow warned me, she told me he was interested but I didn't listen. I shouldn't have…"

"Buffy." Giles snapped grapping her shoulders. "You did nothing wrong! Even if he hadn't used a drug or forced you, you were intoxicated at most and he took advantage of that."

Buffy swallowed hard. Not wanting to face that fact, it was easier to think she'd just screwed up. "So what now? For us?"

Giles frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I cheated."

"No, you did _not_." Giles said firmly.

Buffy looked at her covers miserably. "I slept with someone else Giles."

"Buffy…" Giles said gently, lifting her jaw. "…I don't want anything to change, you know I love you. - But if you don't feel we can continue our relationship, I'll understand."

"No. I - I love you too, I don't want…I thought you wouldn't want me once you found out." she sniffed.

Giles brushed a thumb against her cheek, leaning forward slowly, giving her time too pull away if she wanted, she didn't. He brushed his lips to her briefly. "I will always want you." he murmured.

Buffy looked into his green eyes sadly. "Always is a long time."

"I know." he whispered, kissing her again.

**~Don't Lie~**

It didn't take Giles long to find the young man in question. He was stood talking to sweet looking redhead, telling her all about his brush with death. Giles jaw and hands clenched. He didn't know what a brush with death was. But he would. Walking calmly up to the teenager, he tapped him on the shoulder. "Parker Abrams?" Giles forced a smile.

"Yes."

"Could we talk please." he smiled apologetically at the redhead. "It's about the fire and your attack." Giles's eyes scanning the bruises on the boy's face.

"Oh, right. Sure. I'll speak to you latter Penny."

The girl nodded and walked away.

"What can I do for you? Are you a cop?"

"Not exactly. Could we go somewhere more…private?"

Parker was either overly confident that the past wasn't going to come back and kick his ass or he was just a bloody idiot, 'cause he followed Giles mindlessly around the side of the building.

He'd barely turned the corner when Giles grabbed him around the neck and slammed him into the wall, his grip tight around the boy's throat and murder in his eyes.

"W-what do y-you wa-nt?" Parker wheezed.

"You're fucking head on a stick." Giles growled, his alter ego Ripper clawing himself to the service. "You messed with the wrong girl this time buddy."

Parker's eyes widened with real fear. "I….I didn't…."

"Oh you did." Ripper snarled. His fish connected with Parker's gut with a grunt of satisfaction. He leaned in dangerously close to the boy's face, making sure he saw the threat in his green eyes. "Now I don't know if you spike the drinks, or you just take advantage, but I know you knew exactly what your doing." he delivered another punch. "And in my book that's rape you little bastard."

"I…" he wheezed again. "I…didn't do…."

Ripper pulled him back from the wall just enough for him to slam in him violently back into it. "Yes. You did." he wanted to drag the little fucker to the police station, but he doubted they'd be able to make a case. This kind of thing always came down to he said, she said. And Giles just knew that it would be hard to find anyone to come forward. It was a shame, and a horrific reflection on the state of society that a bastard like Parker Abrams could get away with is. But Giles had no intention of letting him off scot free. He'd used Buffy. He'd made her feel ashamed and guilty. He'd almost destroyed their relationship. Like hell was he getting away with that.

"This is what you're going to do." he growled. "You're going to pack up your shit and get the hell out of my town and if you ever show your face in Sunnydale again, I'll kill you."

He felt Parker swallow against his palm, his eyes beginning to water.

"And just so you don't forget." Ripper sneered before bring his knee up to crash against the teenagers groin. With a final squeeze of his throat, Giles stepped back, straightened his clothes and strolled away from the building. Leaving Parker to slip to the ground in pain.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if Parker's punishment was satifactory. I kinda wasn't sure how to deal with it. **


	5. Fighting Our Way Back To Normal

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episodes - Wild at Heart and The Inititive.**

* * *

**Fighting Our Way Back To Normal**

"So you guys alright now? No more sad Buffy?" Xander asked as they crowded around a table at the Bronze.

Buffy smiled over at Giles, shifting a little bit closer. She knew she was over compensating, but she didn't care, and she didn't hear Giles complaining. "We're good." Things had surprisingly slipped back to normal between them. There were moments of awkwardness but it was actually feeling good. Telling Giles about what had happened with Parker had lifted a weight from her shoulders. It had been made even better when the guy had been arrested by campus police. It seemed she wasn't the only girl he'd pulled that stunt with, only the other girl hadn't just let it go. She kinda wished she'd had the guts to come forward, but she needed to keep a low profile. At least that's what she told herself. The truth was, she just didn't want to face it. She just wanted to get on with her life.

"So when does it start? Its ages since I've been to a gig." Giles murmured excitedly.

Buffy bit back at laugh and rolled her eyes at Willow.

"Don't look that way. I'm…I'm down with the new music. - And I have the albums to prove it." Giles said defensively.

Buffy squealed his hand. "Yes, but it's your cutting-edge eight-tracks that keep you ahead." she chuckled.

"Don't scoff. I've seen Giles collection. He was an animal in his day." Oz said, jumping to the ex-watchers defense.

"Thank you."

Buffy smiled, leaning into to whisper in his ear. "You're still an animal."

Giles flushed, coughed and removed his glasses, sending both his girlfriend and Willow into a fit of giggled. "Ok, why not? If the Stones can still keep rolling, why can't Giles?" Buffy announced.

"Exactly, I think it's brave that you're here." Willow teased.

"Well, thank you all. You've made me feel right at home." Giles grumbled.

The girls giggling again.

"Isn't home that empty place you're trying to escape?" Xander added, gaining a glare from the ex-watcher.

The music began and they all turned to watch the stage, Buffy's hand rubbing absently at Giles thigh, while he stroked at her bareback.

"Oh, yeah. Veruca's playing tonight." Willow murmured.

Buffy turned, hearing the discontent in her friend voice.

"Yeah, every Wednesday. I told you." Oz murmured in reply.

"So, Oz, what about Dingoes? When are you guys here again?" Buffy asked, trying to break the sudden tension that the werewolf seems oblivious too.

"Oh, we're up next Friday."

"They're good, aren't they?" Willow said, desperately trying to draw Oz's attention away from the band.

Buffy knew Willow was having doubts about her relationship with Oz. She'd tried to convince her she was just imagining things, but now, watching him watch the woman on stage, she felt her friends worry.

"Nothing special." Oz answered, as if finally feeling Willow need for reassurance.

"Yeah. She's _quelle _Fiona. Colour me bored." Buffy sighed.

"Really? I think she's rather remarkable. Such presence for someone her age."

Buffy sent him a death glare, not that he paid her any more attention than Oz was paying Willow.

**~BtVS: Don't Lie~**

"Remarkable?"

"What? I was just giving my opinion."

Buffy rolled her eyes as Giles drove them back to his place. "You're utterly blind. Couldn't you see that Willow was freaking out."

Giles glanced over at her. "What? Why?"

"She's convinced the girl's out to hook Oz."

"Really?" he shook his head. "No, I can't believe it. Oz wouldn't never."

"You'd be surprised what people can do under certain circumstances."

"Buffy, I thought we…"

"I know, I'm just saying. Just because Oz is totally in love with Will, doesn't mean that the girl won't try."

"So, for future reference, I am not allow to like her music?"

"Exactly." Buffy nodded.

"Understood." Giles smiled over at him.

"Buffy?"

"Hmm?" she sighed, looking out the car window, they were almost at his place.

"Have you thought any more about…..?"

"What?"

"Moving in." Giles almost whispered, as if he was scared to ask.

Buffy's head snapped around to fix him with a stare. "You still want me too?"

Giles shook his head. "Of course I do."

"Then yeah. - But that means…."

He nodded as they pulled up outside the apartment.

"We'll do it this weekend."

"You sure."

Buffy nodded.

**~Don't Lie~**

Fate of course had other plans, as Willow worst fear came true, when she found Oz locked in his cage with Veruca. All the telling-mom-about-the-boyfriend plans were put on the back burner while Buffy help her friend through the heartache of her potential break-up.

"I'm not quite sure I understand." Giles frowned.

"There was just so much going on with Oz and Willow. There still is. But I just thought you should know." Buffy explained her head resting on Giles shoulder as they stretched out on the couch.

"This fellow in the woods, he was in military garb?"

"And he was toting some serious weaponry. The thing is, I saw some guys dressed exactly like him on Halloween night. I just assumed they were in costume."

"But maybe they were working." Giles murmured.

"I wanna know what's up. The guy got in my way. I almost didn't catch up with Oz in time. And as it was, I was too late to…"

"You saved Willow." Giles comforted, running his fingers down her neck.

"Right now she wishes I hadn't. Giles…." she tilted her head back to look at him. "I've never seen her like this. It's like it hurts too much to form words."

"You've…you've felt that way yourself and you got through it."

"Yeah. I spelt with my watchers, got pregnant and ran off to LA, and _then _got through it. Kinda hoping she doesn't use me as a role model."

Giles pressed his lips to her hair. "Fair enough."

"I just don't know how they're gonna deal with this?"

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy and Willow strolled though town pushing Sam's buggy in silence. Buffy had been hoping that the day out would distract Willow from her misery, but that was never going to work. She understood her friends pain, she'd been in her place - kinda. - and she knew it wasn't something that you could just get over. Frankly if it hadn't been for Sam and Giles, Buffy wondered if she would have ever gotten over Angel. She glanced down at her son and smiled, he was getting more and more like his father everyday and she knew it was only a matter of time before the resemblance was obvious, she just had to tell her mom before that day came.

"How are things between you and Giles?" Willow asked suddenly, startling her friend.

"Huh?"

"Giles and you? Is everything good?"

"Yeah, it's good."

Buffy had told her friend everything about what had happened with Parker and Willow had been furious, so furious she'd threatened to turn him into a cockroach and watch as everyone stomped on him. Buffy had thankfully talked her friend out of that course of action, Willow as it turned out deciding instead to spread the word among the females on campus, which had lead to his arrest.

"Any news on you moving out?" Willow asked.

Buffy's head snapped around. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" she replied seriously.

Willow stammered. "No, no of course not, I just want you and Giles…."

Buffy laughed. "Chill Will, I'm kidding."

"Oh, ha ha." Her best friend gave her a hard unforgiving glare. "So?"

Buffy shrugged, glancing down at Sam who smiled up at her. "It's just been kinda hectic of late, what with….everything. - We haven't really had the chance to…you know, talk about it."

"But you still want to, don't you?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. It's driving me crazy only seeing Giles and Sam all the time, but I just know Mom's going to freak, can you imagine it. - You remember the exorcist right?"

Willow laughed sympathetically. "Of course she's going to be mad. You were seventeen Buffy and he was a teacher, what parent wouldn't be. - But she'll come round when she see you together."

"If she hasn't already killed him, you mean."

"Look, you can't keep putting it off. - What are you going to do, wait until she's on her deathbed?"

"Not a bad idea."

Willow glared at her friend. "I'm serious, she needs to know."

"I know. - After Thanksgiving, okay."

"Why?"

Buffy shrugged. "She's going to visit my aunt, I wouldn't want to ruin it for her."

"Fine. - But that doesn't mean you can't move in with Giles before."

Buffy frowned. "Will….I don't think…."

"Look, I'll be fine. I'm sure I can get another roomie. - I don't need you to baby-sit me Buffy. I'm good, promise."

Buffy wasn't convince but nodded. "I'll think about it. - But only if we go to that party tonight."

"I don't know." Willow frowned. "I don't think I'm ready."

"Party or I'm not moving out."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Fine." she sighed as they turned towards the Summers house.

"Great."

**~Don't Lie~**

"Well, based on Buffy's description, I believe the men that we're after look something like, um…like this." Giles announced holding up the sketch pad to Xander.

"The latest in fall fascism. I like it. A bit full in the hips for my taste, but…"

Giles looked down at the image with a sigh. "I think we can safely assume they're human. So, no research needed."

It wasn't like Giles was bored but, well…he was bored. To say that he'd been more than a little hopeful that the masked men that had been seen around Sunnydale were something monstrous would be an understatement. He dropped the pad and grabbed his tea, slouching back into his couch.

"No study? Damn! Next thing you'll tell me is I'll have to eat jelly doughnuts or sleep with a supermodel to get things done. How much can one man give?"

"Not too much, I'm afraid. Once again I'd say you and I will not be needed to help Buffy." he sighed miserably.

"Really?"

"Really."

"How about this? We whip out the Ouija board, light a few candles, summon some ancient, unstoppable evil: mayhem, mayhem, we show up and kick its ass." Xander said leaning forward, looking as bored as Giles.

"Wee bit unethical." Giles glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the door opening to see Buffy rolling Sam in. He smiled at his sleeping son.

"Hello, people." Buffy grinned, leaving the stroller by Giles desk and strolled over to the couch, leaning down to press a kiss to Giles's lips. "It's my late-night storm trooper pal." Buffy frowned, noticing the sketch on the table.

"Just for reference, but fairly accurate, you'd say?"

"That's your man." Buffy murmured, dropping down across Giles lap.

"Your man, actually."

Buffy looked at Giles warmly, a secret smile in her eyes that sent a thrill though him. The pair continued to look at each other until Xander reminded them of his presence with a tactless cough.

"Um…." Giles shifted under Buffy's backside. "You patrolling tonight?"

"Nope. I am going to a party tonight." Giles looked at his girlfriend with concern.

"Hopefully a 'no fighting, no biting, no drinking' kinda deal." Buffy added to ease Giles nerves.

"Somebody's gotta find out who these people are." Giles murmured, glancing to the sketch.

"Giles…" Buffy dragged out the name. "I live in a dorm, at least for the moment. The girls in my hall wanna party, Willow needs cheering up, I'm going to take her."

"How's Will dealin'…?" Xander asked.

"With the black hole of despair since Oz left? She's dealing. I'm helping. It's hard, ergo party." Buffy looked between the pair, her fingers playing with the short hairs at the back of Giles neck. "And I was kinda hoping that…" she leant into Giles. "…Me and Sam could stay the night. Thought we could talk about my moving in."

Giles looked over at her with wide eyes. "What about your mother?"

"She's got a date, saw my chance and said you'd baby-sit." Buffy smirked knowingly at him. "figured I go hang at the party for a while with Will then come back here."

"What about Willow?"

"She's made it clear she doesn't want a babysitter."

Giles smiled. "Then how could I refuse."

Xander coughed once again when it looked like the pair were going to start making out. Buffy grinned at her friend. "Alright, well if you'll excuse me I need to go find something slutty to wear tonight."

Giles glared at her.

"Kidding." she smirked, dropping another kiss of his lips before pulling herself off his lap.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy stood surrounded by a small group, watching Willow across the room sat on a couch with Riley. She smiled to herself at the sight. She knew there was something between the pair, it had been there since the day they'd met, only Will had been with Oz so they'd all known that nothing was going to happen. But now with Oz gone, maybe Willow could act on the attraction. Buffy wasn't fooling herself, she knew Willow wasn't just going to move on straight away, but she did hope that their blossoming friendship was a sign of great things to come. After all Riley was a good guy. Hell if she wasn't with Giles, she might have even spared the country boy a second glance. She turned away from the pair, back to a conversation she wasn't really paying attention too, calculating in her head how long she had to stay before she could leave to spend time with Giles and Sam.

The next time she looked up she found the couch empty. Her eyes scanned the room but couldn't find the familiar glow of red hair, or the towering form of Riley. A warmth filled her at the thought that they'd left together, but she couldn't help but hope that Willow wasn't going to do something she might regret later. Spending the night with the TA wouldn't do either of them any favours.

Buffy was preparing to leave, after all she'd only come to try and cheer Willow up, when she saw Xander burst through the door, rushing at her with wide eyes panic, her stomach clenched tight. It was never a good sign. Xander skidded to a halt in front of her, and she smaller group she'd been about to leave, and stuttered.

"I've been looking all over for you…" he panted, looking from her to the group. "We need…we need to talk. Not here. It's sort of….unfinished business." he said in a rush.

"Business?" Buffy frowned for a moment. "Right. Excuse me." she smiled at the group before rushing off after Xander. "What's happening?" she asked as they draw further away.

"Spike's back." Xander whispered as they rushed away.

It took them longer than Buffy would have liked to get back to Giles place. Fear eating at her insides. It wasn't that she was scared of Spike, hell he was too useless to be scared of, it was that he didn't like that she was still slightly shaken from their last encounter. He knew how to get into her head better than anyone since Angel, and frankly that was worrying.

Giles was sat on the couch going through books when she marching into the apartment, Xander at her heels. Her eyes automatically sort out Sam, asleep in the travel cot near the desk. She paused to looking at him, reassuring herself that he was alright even though she knew he was. She'd been doing that a lot lately, unsure why. She smiled softly as she watched him sleep for a few more seconds before dragging herself away and over to join Giles on the couch.

"What is wrong with him." Xander had filled her in as much as he could on their way back. "Doesn't Spike get that this is my town?" she sighed, slumping frustratingly against the cushions.

Giles looked at her sympathetically. "He's resilient."

"And it's my night off." Buffy complained.

"We have to assume that Spike's main target is you." Giles murmured, leaning forward on his knees.

"Fine." she huffed. "He's worn out his welcome. Tonight I kill him."

Giles head snapped around to meet her blue eyes. "You have a plan?"

"I am the plan. If Spike wants me, I go alone."

Giles opened his mouth to protest.

"No arguments. Lead him away from the popular places and give him what he wants." With a deep breath he pushed herself out of her seat.

"Oh, wait. Wait!" Xander insisted, getting to his feet and reaching into the waistband of his jeans. "Take this."

"A flare gun?" Buffy asked with a raised sceptical brow. "Xander, if I find Spike, I'm staking him, not signalling ships at sea."

"You get into trouble…"

Buffy closed her eyes and exhaled, catching on to what he was saying. "Ok. I'll flare."

"And we'll come a-runnin." Xander nodded.

"Be careful." Giles said as she looked at him a moment before turning to leave.

"Do you think Spike will find her?" Xander asked as the door closed on the slayer.

"I'm sure of it." Giles answer mournfully, worry eating at his gut.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy sat there, the evening chill nipping at her skin. What was taking him so long? If Spike wanted her so damn badly then why the hell wasn't he there trying to chow down on her? That's what always annoyed her about the damn vampire, he was always so bloody unreliable.

Finally she heard movement behind her. _It took him long enough_. Her fingers tightened around the stake in her bag. Taking a breathe at the footsteps got closer she leapt to her feet, her hand pulling free, the stake gripped tight, only to freeze as her eyes fixed on Riley. What the hell was he doing there. Her hand dropped instantly, hiding the stake behind her back.

"Riley? What are you doing here?" she said with surprise and frustration. Her eyes scanning the surroundings.

"Well, I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to you when I left."

"Yeah. Well…" Buffy looked around in a panic. "It's fine. Really."

"No. I should have said goodbye." Riley smiled, looking down at her with a smile.

Buffy laughed forcible. "It's fine. I totally get you not saying anything. What with being so into Willow and all. - You did leave with Willow right?" she frowned, suddenly worried that Willow hadn't left the party. That she'd abandoned her best friend who was totally miserable with a house full of strangers.

"Yeah." Riley murmured and Buffy could ignore the warm look he had in his eyes.

"Good. Then really it's fine." she grinned. "Totally fine." her eyes scanning the surroundings once again.

"Fine. Yeah…." Riley looked around nervously.

"Just don't hurt her you know." Buffy warned. "She's been through enough."

Riley's gaze locked on the slayers. "I…I wouldn't." he shook his head. "Willow's….great. I like her."

"I can see that. I just don't want her rushing into anything before she's ready. Her and Oz were…."

Riley nodded. "Yeah. I know. You really don't have to worry, I'm not going to force anything. I just like talking to her, hanging out with her." he sighed, smiling softly. "I just walked her back to the dorm, nothing happened." He stated defensively.

Buffy's grin widened. "Glad to hear it."

They stood silently for a few moments before Buffy remembered what she was really there for. "Um…you know, I don't want you taking this the wrong way. It's just, um…I need a little alone time now. Alone."

"Why?" Riley asked quickly, his eyes looking around them.

"I need space." Buffy replied a little panicked.

"We're outdoors." He countered.

"I mean, emotionally."

"You know, there's plenty of space back in your room. Why don't I take you? I'm sure Willow could use someone to talk to." Riley insisted. "You wouldn't believe the weirdos out…" added, reaching for Buffy's arm.

"Whoa! Ok." she dodged out of his grasp. "It's a gree campus. Who died and made you John Wayne?" she laughed.

"I'm just trying to help."

"You think I need help?" Buffy snapped. "Believe me, I don't. - You know, if you were a real gentleman, they you would just leave." she said calmly taking a seat back on the bench. "You would go far, far away. Now. Shoo!" she waved her hand at him dismissively.

"Are you drunk?"

"Yes. Go and report me."

"I'm taking you home." He reach and lifted her off the bench.

"Ever think maybe I'm gonna take you home? Huh? - What? You think that boys can take care of themselves and girls need help?"

"Yeah."

Buffy glared. "That's is so Teutonic."

"Look, Buffy, as long as you're out here, I'm staying." He insisted.

"Well, as long as you're out here, I'm staying." she replied challengingly.

The female scream broke them apart, Buffy's head snapping around in the direction the sound had come from. "See ya!" said quickly, taking off at a run. Not really hearing Riley own goodbye. Buffy ran across the quad, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

When she saw the lights go out at her dorm she knew where the scream had come from and quickened her pace. Rushing out the back stairs. She hadn't expected to find the military dudes, tackling Spike to the ground, and if it hadn't have been for one of them raising a hand to hit Willow she would have left the vamp to them. Instead she rushed through the corridor towards them.

"Contain this." she snapped angrily, pulling the trigger of the flare gun, filling the room with fire and light as it skimmed off the surrounding walls.

"What the hell was that?" one of the men yelled as Buffy shove Willow into their room.

She pulled the door closed as one of the men rushed her, throwing her into the opposite wall with a grunt. She rolled out of the way as he tried to kick at her, getting to her feet quickly to deflect a punch and deliver one of her own. They guy put up a hell of a fight, matching Buffy's blows, but she was strong and he seemed to realize that, soon enough.

"Abort!" he called, turning and vanishing back down the corridor.

Buffy weighed up going after them, but her first priority was Willow. Turning she rushed back to the dorm room. As the lights in the building came back on. Willow was standing in the doorway, a hand pressed to her neck. Taking her elbow Buffy guided her back inside. Settling her on the bed she examined her friends neck.

"Did he bite you?"

"No. He couldn't." Willow shrugged.

"What do you mean, he couldn't?"

Willow chewed her lower lip. "I don't know. It was weird, every time he tried he started yelling in pain. - Then I hit him with the vase." she looked at the scattered remains. "…and ran, but then those guys."

"Yeah. I'm really getting tired of those guys." she sighed, looking at the closed door.

Sighing Buffy got to her feet and strolled over to the phone, lifting the receiver and dialling a all too familiar number.

"Who you calling?"

"Giles. Tell him I won't be coming back tonight."

"Buffy no."

The slayer looked at her best friend with determination. "I'm not leaving you alone tonight, and don't argue."

"But…"

"Giles, hey I won't be back to night, I'm staying with Will. - We're fine, I just don't want to leave her. I'll explain everything tomorrow. - No, he got away. - All right. See you tomorrow. Early. - give Sam a kiss goodnight from me. - Yeah, love you too. Night." she hung up, dragged her jacket off her bare shoulders and dropped down onto the bed. "So…you and Riley huh?" smiling as the pale fear on Willow's face faded to a blush.

**~Don't Lie~**

It was like nothing had happened, the whole dorm jabbering on about some prank and yet again she wondered how many of them actually knew the truth, how many were just pretending that they hadn't seen the weirdness that was her world. It had been surprising how many at Sunnydale High had done that. She strolled across the quad in the bright morning light. She'd promised Giles she'd drop by and explain everything and maybe spend a few hours making out for the night that next was. It was frustrating how many times her work go in the way of their relationship and she'd wondered more than once if maybe he'd be happier with someone normal. Like that Olivia woman.

She was pulled out of her thought by Riley jogging up to her.

"Hey."

"Hi." she smiled, pushing her doubts aside.

"Listen, sorry about last night."

"No. No, I was rude. I just…felt like being alone. Sometimes it's nice to be out by yourself at night."

"I hear that. Gotta be careful, though. Lot of strange…people out there."

"Oh yeah."

They walked on for a few moments before Riley spoke again.

"How's Willow doing?"

Buffy smiled up at him. "Ok. Course, that stupid fraternity prank on our dorm didn't help any." she sighed angrily.

"Yeah. I'm sure." he murmured thoughtfully.

"Maybe you could drop by. Say hi." Buffy said encouragingly.

"What happened to no pressure."

Buffy's lips quirked at the corner. "It's not pressure, it's concern. - I think she needs someone to be concerned about her right now."

"She's got you."

"Yeah, but I'm her best friend, it's kind of a given. - But I've got my own…stuff going on. I don't want her, you know…."

"Moping."

"Yeah. I'd hate to come back and find her all emo-girl on me."

Riley smiled. "Then you can count on me."

"But gentle." Buffy warned.

Riley nodded.

"Well, I've got to go. I'm meeting my boyfriend."

Riley nodded. "Yeah. And I'm gonna…." he waved a hand in the direction of Stevenson Hall and Buffy's dorm.

"See ya." Buffy chuckled lightly as she watched him back away before rushing off.

**~Don't Lie~**

She arrived at Giles thirty minuets later, marching into the apartment to find Giles in the kitchen making tea and Sam playing on a rug on the floor. Buffy dropped her bag by the room and rushed over to scoop the baby up, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Turning she settled him on her hip as she headed for the kitchen. Giles turned with a tired smile to greet her.

"Hey."

"Hey." she murmured, pushing herself up on tiptoe to meet his descending mouth.

"How's Willow?"

"Fine. But I'm seriously going to kick the hell out of Spike when I get my hands on him. - As well as those G.I-Joe's."

Giles nodded as he poured the tea into two mugs and carried them back to the couch, Buffy leading the way. They took their seats, Buffy settling Sam on her lap with a at-home sigh, her head falling onto Giles shoulder. He lifted his arm up to wrap around her, pulling her and Sam closer. Savouring the warmth of having his family with him. Neither spoke, they all just sat there, Sam's babbling the only sound filling the room.

* * *

**A/N: Season four is like my worst nightmare. **


	6. In The Shadow

**A/N: This chapter is pretty episode heavy, lots of conversations taken from the episode (but it's necessary.) which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episodes - Pangs.**

* * *

**In The Shadows**

Thanksgiving came quicker than any of them had expected and as Buffy, Willow and Anya stood at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new cultural center, Buffy couldn't help but worry over what it meant. Not the whole moral implications of the holiday, but what it meant to her and her life. She'd been telling Willow and Giles for weeks that she'd tell her mom about them after Thanksgiving, somehow never quite expecting to have to actually do it, now Thanksgiving was here and as soon as her mom returned from her break at her aunts, she'd have to sit her down and tell her that she was in a relationship. Which usually wouldn't bother the older woman, except she was in a relationship with her high school librarian and watcher and Buffy knew without a shadow of a doubt that that wasn't going to go over very well. For some reason she couldn't quite fathom, her mom had some real issues with Giles. And if it wasn't going to be bad enough tell her that she was with Giles now, it was going to be all out war confessing that their relationship went all the way back to high school, and that Sam was Giles's son. She could already see the fury that was going to come in the way of that revelation.

"What a load of horse hooey!" Willow snapped, pulling Buffy from her troublesome thoughts.

"We have a counter point?" Buffy frowned.

"Yeah! Thanksgiving isn't about the blending of two cultures. It's about one culture wiping out another. And then they make animated specials with the maize and the big, big belt buckles. They don't show you the scene where all the bison die, and then Squanto takes a musket ball in the stomach."

"Okay, for some of that you _were _channelling your mother."

"Well, yeah, sorta. That's why she doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving or Columbus Day. You know, the destruction of the indigenous peoples. - But I know it sounds a little overwrought but really she's right."

"Yeah. I guess I never really thought about it that way." Buffy shrugged. "With Mom at Aunt Arlene's I'm not getting a Thanksgiving. I guess maybe it's just as well." she sighed. "And well, Giles, you know. English. Doesn't really do the whole Thanksgiving thing."

"Well, I think that's a shame. I love a ritual sacrifice." Anya put in.

"Not really a one-of-those." Buffy corrected.

"To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual sacrifice. - With pie." she turned back to the ceremony. "What's she doing? Xander said _he _was gonna dig. I want to see Xander dig."

"That part's just ceremonial." Willow clarified, rolling her eyes at Buffy.

"Well, it bite. - She's not rippling at all."

Buffy shook her head at the ex-demon, sharing a understanding look with Willow.

"So." Willow began in a change of subject. "You thought about what you're gonna tell your mom when she gets back from her trip."

Buffy groaned inwardly. Leave it to Willow to remind her of the inevitable. "No."

"But you're going to tell her?" Willow frowned.

"Yeah, of course. I said I was. - It's just…going to be hard."

Willow squeezed her arms gentle. "She'll be fine. - Eventually."

Their conversation was halted abruptly as the ground caved beneath Xander's feet, causing him to plummet into a deep cavern. The three friends rushing forward in a panic.

**~Don't Lie~**

"While they were pulling Xander out, I heard a couple of Anthro professors talking about it. Man, were they excited. It's the old Sunnydale Mission, which everyone thought was lost.

"Huh uh." Buffy murmured, leaning out of the dorm window, her eyes fixed on the night beyond, an odd feeling she hadn't been able to shake for days still haunting her, pulling her attention without her knowing it.

"Is there something out there?" Willow asked a little worried.

"Hm? Oh. No." Buffy shook her head, stepping back, pulling the window closed behind her. "I'm sorry. A lost mission?" she sat on the edge of her bed, turning her full attention to her friend. "I mean, a hairbrush I can understand. - but the way, I will find that and get it back to you, but how do you lose a Mission?"

"Huge earthquake in 1812. Everyone just assumed the Mission was levelled. Instead, they built right over it. - It's like what happened in the 30's with that church the Master was in. - Doesn't it make you wonder what else is down there? Right under our feet."

"Mostly, I've found sewers full of demons." Buffy shrugged.

"Oh, right." Willow giggled as she dropped her clothes in the laundry basket. Turning back she closed the door as the noise of the dorm grew with excited cat-calls. "Man, it's crazy out there."

"Mm-hm. Post-midterm frenzy." Buffy nodded.

And the holiday. Everyone's goin home. It looks like a lotta lucky moms are gonna be getting brimming baskets of dirty laundry." Willow smiled, throwing herself down on her bed.

Buffy lay watching her friend, feeling a little home-sick, not for the first time. "It's so not fair. I mean, they all get a family holiday just because they can go home to their families."

"Mm. It's a turvy-topsy world." Willow agreed with a hum.

Buffy pushed herself up suddenly, fixing her gaze on her friend. "Hey, I should have my own Thanksgiving."

Willow frowned at her friend as the slayer got to her feet.

"I'm an adult. I have a family now, with Giles and Sam, and you guys. I can cook. It'll be great." she insisted.

"Buffy." Willow wined. "Earlier you agreed with me about Thanksgiving. It's a sham. It's all about death."

"It is a sham. But it's a sham with yams. It's a yam-sham." Buffy pouted.

"Your not going to jokey-rhyme your way out of this one."

"I know. But I _want _it." She replied petulantly. "It's like Professor Walsh was saying about sense memory. I smell a roasting turkey and I'm eight years old. I liked having that to look forward to. I want Sam to have that." Buffy sighed, turning to the window again. "Everything's different now."

"Well, I suppose there could be _slight _yams." Willow surrendered. "I mean, we could definitely use a little comfort food."

Buffy looked back to her best friend, a wide grin on her face.

"Oh, we could not invite Anya?" Willow said suddenly.

Buffy huffed a laugh. "I don't know. She and Xander seem pretty tight lately."

"Grumble. Grumble." Willow pouted.

"Look, Pilgrims aside, isn't that the point about Thanksgiving? Everybody has a place to go?"

Willow shrugged. "What about Giles?"

"He'll be fine. - Besides, if we're going to be together, he has to get used to our bizarre customs. I mean I have to deal with the tea thing." he nose wrinkled causing Willow to laugh.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy and Willow were strolling through the market, trying to figure out what they were going to need for thanksgiving, pushing Sam in front of them, when they heard the news about the Anthropology Professor's murder. They headed straight to the cultural center, Sam in toe, cause it was just a short walk from the store and it would take them an hour to drop him off back at Giles's. It wasn't the best plan Buffy realised as they rolled the stroller past the police tape and into the dimly lit crime scene. Thankfully the little boy was sleeping soundly. Storing the buggy and the two large paper bag of shopping by the door, the pair went quickly about their investigation, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, before Sam woke up.

"I'll never get used to this." Buffy whispered. "One day she's at the Friendship Ceremony and the next day, she's on the news."

"The news report said she was missing an ear. So I'm thinking maybe we're looking for a witch. There's some great spells that work much better with an ear in the mix."

Buffy looked at her with a slightly discomforted grimace. "That's one fun little hobby you've got there, Will."

"Or maybe an ear-harvesting demon that, it's, like, building another demon completely out of ears. Or…Oh! Thought. We're just assuming someone else cut off the ear. What if it was self-inflicted, like Van Gogh?" Willow rambled, following Buffy around the room.

"So she brutally stabbed herself, dumped the body and then cut off her own ear?"

"No. She cut off her ear, then killed herself, then dumped the body….I'm really off my game, aren't I?"

"Yeah. Wait. Something's missing from this case. Early 1800 Chumash knife. There's a picture."

"What's it look like?" Willow rushed to look over her friends shoulder.

A sound behind them caused the pair to spin, releasing a relieved breath as they realised it was just Sam.

"I guess we need to get out of here." Dropping the picture back into the case, she marched over to stroller, picking up one of the large paper bags and balancing it on the top, while Willow collected the other.

They breezed into Giles place, leaving the stroller in the courtyard while they deposited the shopping on Giles desk.

"Well, I'm going to go do some research on the Chumash. I'll drop by later. You staying right?"

Buffy nodded. "You going to be okay."

"Of course. - See you later. - Later sweetie." she murmured, pressing a kiss to Sam's cheek as Buffy balanced him on her hip.

When Willow had vanished up the complex steps, she turned and carried Sam into the apartment, Giles stood by the kitchen watching her with a confused look. She settled Sam on to his blanket before carrying the shopping into the kitchen.

"What's this?" Giles asked, eyeing the bags.

"It's for Thanksgiving."

"Huh?"

"Thanksgiving. Seasonal holiday."

"I know what Thanksgiving is Buffy, why have you brought it here."

"Cause we're doing Thanksgiving this year, with mom away. - It'll be our first official couple holiday dinner." she grinned at him.

Followed her into the kitchen where she put the bags on the counter. "I assume your aware that there's been a murder?"

Buffy nodded. "Already on it. Willow's in research mode as we speak. You should have seen the store, it was pretty scary. It was more like a riot that a Ralphs, I thought I was going to have to use slayer moves on this one woman who was completely hoarding the pumpkin pie filling."

Giles sighed, leaning back against the counter and folding his arms. "And at some point you are going to tell me about the murder?"

"Oh. Right. The knife was some sort of Indian artefact. Chumash, I think. That's all we got."

"Oh, the Chumash Indians." Giles said looking intrigued and excited. "They were indigenous to this whole area." he informed her, beginning to help her pack away the shopping in that comfortable couple way, moving around each other with ease. "That's interesting. Then, of course, the murder weapon might have just been a convenient choice."

"Uh-uh. There was a pair of big old scissors lying right there. That knife was picked for a reason." Buffy said, searching Giles kitchen cupboards. "Do you even own a turkey pan?"

"Tell me why we're not doing this at your house?" he asked unthinkingly, pulling off his glasses to stare at her.

"I thought… this is my…..." she looked up at him doubtfully. "Or at least it will be. - Unless, well…have you…"

Giles stepped forward, shaking his head as he looked down at her, his arm snaking around her waist. "No. I haven't changed my mind. - But surely your….mom's place would be better suited." he said in a low heavy voice.

"But it's my mom's house, this is my…our Thanksgiving. Our first, as a family. I….I want it here."

Giles smiled, pulling her closer, pressing his lips to hers. They kissed lazily for a few moments before Buffy pulled back and met his hungry gaze, her arms still wrapped around his neck.

"Besides, if you would like to get by in American society, you have to follow our traditions."

Giles smirked as he raised a brow at her. "Really?"

"Yes." her face serious as she spoke. "You're the patriarch. You have to host the festivities or it's all meaningless."

Giles matched her serious face, his brows pulled tight together as he nodded. "Right. Of course. How stupid of me? - And this is in no way an elaborate scheme to stick me with the clean up?" he teased.

Buffy narrowed her gaze at him. "How about that ceremonial knife, huh. Juicy piece of clueage, don't you think?"

Giles chuckled, pressing another lingering kiss to his slayers lips. "All right, I'll look into the Chumash connection." he sighed, taking a step back, allowing Buffy to finish her unpacking. "…See if there's any ritual significance to the ear removal."

"Thank you." She said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before strolling to the kitchen alcove, pausing for a second as a dizzing feeling took over her.

"You alright?" Giles asked with concern.

"Yeah, Uh…I still need to pick up a few things, I won't be long. - And keep your hands off the food." she warned, strolling towards the door.

"Oh, I'll try and restrain myself from eating uncooked potatoes and cranberries."

Buffy lifted her jacket off the coat rack and turned back to give a loving smile before leaving the house.

Giles watched her rush out of the apartment from the alcove, his hands on his hips. "So, what do you think?"

"She sounds good." Angel said, stepping out of the back room.

Giles turned to glare at him, that wave of jealous he hadn't felt in months flooding him again.

"Kind of intense about this Thanksgiving thing." he added, strolling over to look a grumbling Sam.

Giles walked over, leaning past him to lift his son up, balancing him on his hip. "I meant about the murder." he clarified, staring at his vampires rival.

Angel shifted uneasily as he looked between Giles and the baby, swallowing hard. "I think….whatever killed the woman in the museum, that's probably the danger." he replied, dropping his gaze and turning away from the sight of father and son, and the memories it brought back.

"This danger…your friend has some ominous vision about Buffy?" Giles pressed, slightly disbelieving. "It's all terribly vague. There are other things happening on this campus."

Angel turned to meet the ex-watchers gaze. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't just keep watching."

Giles glared again, his hand subconsciously tightening around his son, who seemed to be watching Angel with the same intense, mistrusting gaze. Giles inhaled sharply. "It's not your job to keep her safe."

Angel's head lulled forward. "I know." he sighed. "But I….I still care about her. I can't just stop. - She made her choice, and I respect that." his eyes settling on Sam once again. "And she's clearly happy. - But…I'm not just going to forget about her." he said forcible.

Giles stared at the vampires for a long angry moment before surrendering. Exhaling slowly he moved to take a seat on the couch, Sam on his lap. "Alright. But I feel we should tell her. I don't like keeping this….secret."

"If she knew I was here, it would….distract her. It could get her hurt. - I don't….I don't want to get in the way." he said sincerely.

Giles shifted Sam on his knee as he leant forward, removing his glasses. "I'm assuming there is a connection to the old mission. Something is angry about being disturbed."

"Or maybe it was trapped there and now it's released." Angel put forward, pacing the room, avoiding looking at the man and boy.

"Something with a fondness for ancient weapons?"

"Do you know Father Gabriel?"

"No." Giles looked up at him.

"He knows the history of this place pretty well, his family dates back to mission times. He might be able to fill in some blanks."

"Ok. I'll see about contacting him." Giles sighed.

Angel nodded, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To watch her."

Giles leapt to his feet, his son cradles close. "It's not fair. You know that's what _she'd _say." he grumbled, a slight hint of pain and anger in his voice. "You can see her, but she can't see you?"

Angel paused looking back at him. "Believe me, I'm not getting the good half of this deal. Having to watcher her….with you…." his gaze shifting to Sam once more. "…playing happy families. Being on the outside looking in at what I can't…" he took a breath. "…I'd forgotten how bad it feels." he sighed, meeting the other man's gaze.

Giles opened his mouth to say something but he didn't know what. What could he possibly say that wouldn't make him sound like a jealous lover, which was exactly what he was. "Fine." he nodded.

Angel returned the nod and left, the pair reaching a mutual understanding.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy and Willow strolled through town. She'd bumped into her friend as she was cutting through on her way to check in on Xander before heading back to campus, and convinced her to accompany her to the store for more supplies.

"But you _have _whipped cream. I saw it in Giles's fridge." Willow insisted.

"But that's whipped cream in a canister. It's only right if you whip it yourself."

"Yey, and then later we can churn out own butter and make sweaters out of sheep." Willow cheered sarcastically.

"Ok. It's the last thing. I promise." Buffy sighed apologetically. "Besides, I want to get back."

Willow grinned at her, causing Buffy to blush and giggle.

"So things are good with you two, I take it. All ready to move in."

Buffy sighed.

"Buffy?"

"It's just…I'm nervous alright. I don't want anything to screw this up. I mean we had such a hard time in high school, with everything. And we didn't exactly start this whole thing like normal couples do. - And I know what he's like. If mom freaks he's going to back off, he's going be all martyr-y."

"Well you've never exactly been one for the easy road, Buffy. What with Angel, and then Giles. But you'll get through it and it'll all be fine. - And your mom with come round. Eventually. - But you can't keep putting it off. It's only going to make things worse when she finds out."

Buffy sighed.

"Willow!"

The pairs heads snapped around to see Riley rushing over to them.

"Hey." the girls said in unison.

"Hey Buffy." Riley nodded sheepishly, like he'd just realised she was there.

They stood awkwardly for a few moments, Buffy watched her friend and Riley shyly look at each other.

"Well, I'm just gonna let you two….Look there's the store, I'm gonna…" Buffy nodded to the building across the street, before jogging over, looking back at them before stepping inside.

By the time Buffy had gathered what she needed from the store, Willow was alone, standing by the door. The slayer looked around. "Where's Riley go?"

"Oh, he had to leave." Willow shrugged, looking flushed.

Buffy smiled knowingly. "You should have invited him for Thanksgiving."

"I did." the red-head said before she could stop herself, flushing crimson.

"Really?" Buffy's smile grew wider.

"He can't make it. He's heading back to Iowa to see his family."

"Shame. Maybe next year." she nodded. "If you know, he's still….interested."

Willow dropped her gaze and starting to walk away.

Buffy rushed to join her friend. "You know, it's okay to….like him."

"I know."

"I mean, like him - like him."

Willow's gaze locked with her friends. "I…I don't think I'm ready to…." she shook her head.

"Okay. That's okay. Take as long as you need. - If he likes you as much as I think he does, he'll wait."

Willow gave her a small uncertain smile and the pair turned to more important topics of conversation.

"So can you drop into that market by the campus and grab some peas tomorrow?"

"Sure."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy strolled back into Giles apartment to find him laying on the couch, Sam resting on his chest as he read some ancient book. Buffy placed the bag of shopping on the kitchen counter and walked over to them, leaning over the back of the couch to claim a kiss from a sleepy Giles.

"You get everything?" He whispered, not wanting to wake the sleeping baby.

"Yeah. Will's going to pick up the peas on her way here."

"Did she find out anything?"

Buffy shook her head. "Not yet. You?"

"There's a priest. Father Gabriel, at St. Michael church, across town. He's family dates back to the mission. He might know something."

"You want me to go and talk to him."

"I think it would be a good idea."

"Tonight?"

Giles nodded, regretfully. "The sooner we know what we're dealing with…."

"The sooner we can kill it." Buffy nodded understandingly. "I'll just go and change, then head out to see him." she moved to stand up, but Giles gripped her hand, pulling her around the sofa and down to kneel beside him. Hooking his hand behind her head, he pulled her into a deep possessive kiss.

"What was that for?" she panted when he finally let her go.

"No reason." he lied. "Don't be too long."

Buffy inclined her head, scrambling to her feet and rushing up the stairs to change. She came back down a few minutes later in black pants and a grey top, pressed a kiss to Giles and Sam's foreheads and then rushed out.

It didn't take her long to get to the church, finding it empty. Her instincts told her something was wrong as he called for the priest, walking slowly through the church. It didn't take her long to find him. Hanging from a rafter, a Indian warrior at his side, the knife in one hand and the priest's ear in the other.

"God." Buffy gasped, running forward, dragging the warrior away from the hanging priest.

"You can't stop me." The Warrior stated firmly.

"You're very wrong about that."

The warrior attacked, and Buffy defended. The pair crashing into walls, and bells and statues. Buffy was thrown, landing on her back, staring up as the Warrior crowded over her.

"I am vengeance. I am my people's cry. They call for Hus, for the avenging spirit to carve out justice."

"They tell you to start an ear collection?" Buffy snipped, bring her leg up to collide with the Warrior's head, sending him rolling off her.

They fought on for a few more minutes before Buffy was able to get the Warrior on his knees, the knife to his throat.

"You slaughtered my people. Now you kill their spirit. This is a great day for you."

Buffy paused, looking into the Warrior's eyes. Something she couldn't name rolling in the pit of her stomach. She knew she had to kill him, but she couldn't bring herself to. She pushed him away and watched as he turned into a flock of crows and vanished.

**~Don't Lie~**

"How's it go? Did you learn anything?"

Buffy shrugged out of her jacket, hanging it on the coat rack and walking over to join Giles on the couch, her eyes flickering to a sleeping Sam. She crawled into her lovers lap, and pressed her mouth to his briefly. "Father Gabriel's dead."

"What?" Giles frowned. "What…."

"I was too late." she sighed regretfully.

"What….did you see what killed him?"

Buffy nodded. "But can we….deal with this tomorrow."

"Buffy we need…." he was silenced by her lips.

"I know." she murmured against his mouth. "But….tomorrow."

Giles gripped her shoulders, looking into her watery eyes and inhaled slowly. He nodded and pulled her back against him, claiming her mouth, her arms wrapped tight around his neck. Giles got to his feet, Buffy wrapping her legs around his waist, her lips shifting to suck gently as his neck as he carried her to the stairs, careful to avoid disturbing their son. He lowered her onto his bed, his lips recapturing her's as his hands slipped beneath her grey top, his warm fingers skimming over her cold flesh. Buffy's hands dragging at his grey sweater, pulling it off and dropping it haphazardly beside the bed. Giles quickly followed suit, pulling off the grey top to reveal Buffy's black bra. Throwing it aside, he dropped his lips to the swell of her breasts.

Buffy moans as he sucked a deep bruised into the tender skin, his hips rolling seductively against hers. She slipped her hands between them, fiddling with the fastening of his slacks, dragging them down so her hand could slip past the elastic waistband of his underwear to curl her fingers around his erection. He groaned against her skin, his hips snapping forward as she stoked him firmly.

Giles swallowed another moan as he rolled them so Buffy was on top of him, his hands blinding going in search of the opening to her pants, dragging them and her panties down. Buffy toed off her boots as she lay pressed against her lover, before kicking her clothing away. She shifted so as to drag Giles slacks the rest of the way off, before settling back on top of him, her mouth seeking out his. They kissed hungrily, tongues seeking pleasure from each others warmth. Buffy's finger combing through the man's thick greying hair. Giles rolled them again. Buffy's thigh lifting to hook over his hip. As he pushed into her warmth she released a satisfied, content sigh, her arms tightening around the watcher's neck, her lips and teeth plucking at his lips as he moved above her, thrusting with a steady rhythm. Building pace, moving deeper, till Buffy's head rolled back with a cry of ecstasy tumbling from her lips. Giles following her over the edge soon after.

The pair curled up under the covers, Giles arms wrapped around his slayer's naked, sweat sleeked body as sleep claimed them.

**~Don't Lie~**

"It's clear we're dealing with a spirit of some kind." Giles said as he pealed potatoes the next morning while Buffy placed the turkey in to roast. "It's very common for Indian spirits to change to animal form.

"Well, it's plenty uncommon for me to freeze up during a fight. - I mean I had the guy…" she complained, reaching for the bowl of cream. "I was ready for the takedown and I stopped. - And….Native American."

"Sorry?" Giles frowned.

"We don't say Indian."

"Oh, right. Yes, yes. Always behind on the terms. Still trying not to refer to you lot as bloody colonials."

Buffy shot him a narrow eyes glare as she brushed past him. "And the thing is, I like my evil like I like my men: Evil. You know."

Giles looked at her, his hip leaning against the sink, a brow raised.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Straight up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, my-electro-ray-will-destroy-Metropolis bad. Not all mixed up with guilt and the destruction of an indigenous culture."

"This spirit warrior - Hus, you called him, has killed innocent people."

"Ok, we need to boil those and put them through the ricer."

"I don't think I have a ricer." Giles frowned.

Buffy's head snapped up from the cookery book. "You don't have a ricer? What do you mean? How could someone not have a ricer?"

"Well, do you have one at home….your mothers?"

"I don't know…what's a ricer?"

"We'll mash them with forks, much as the Pilgrims must have." Giles replied warily. "Did you get the part about innocent people."

"Yes. Ok. And I do wanna stop him. I'd just like to find a non-slayey way to do it."

Giles watched her for a long moment, before turning back to his task.

They fell silent, the only sound the splash of water as Giles reached for another potato. It was broken by a knock on the door and Buffy rushed to answer.

"Hey." she smiled at Willow.

"Hey."

"Peas?"

"Peas." Willow nodded to the boxed balanced onto of the pile of books she was carrying.

"These are froze?" Buffy stated staring at the boxes.

"What's all that?" Giles asked, eyeing the pile of books Willow set on his desk.

"Atrocities. I got the full scoop on the Chumash Indians and our fabulous buried mission."

"You said you'd get fresh ones?"

"Atrocities?"

"Peas. They come in pods. You were going to shell them."

"I didn't have time. I was reading about the Chumash war." Willow apologizes.

"The Chumash were peaceful." Giles commented from the sink.

"Oh, they were peaceful alright. They were indigenous kittens till _we _came along."

"They're gonna be mushy." Buffy whined.

"They won't be mushy."

"I like mushy peas." Giles stated, causing Buffy and Willow to crinkle their noses.

"You're the reason we had Pilgrims in the first place. So what happened to the Chumash?"

"How abut imprisonment, forced labour, hearded like animals into a mission full of bad European diseases."

"Boy. The Cultural Partnership Centre really didn't stress any of that stuff."

"Not even a diorama." Willow shook her head regretfully. "And it gets better. The few Chumash who tries to rebel were hanged. And when a group was accused of stealing cattle, they were killed. Men, women and children. And for proof to bring back to their accusers…."

"They cut off their ears?" Giles sighed.

"So Hus wasn't kidding about the rightful vengeance. He's re-creating all the wrongs done to his people."

"Then it's up to us to stop him."

"Yes, but after dinner, right?" Buffy pleaded.

"Are you sure we shouldn't be helping him?" Willow questioned.

"No, I think perhaps we won't help the angry spirit with his rape and pillage and murder." Giles replied, strolling out of the kitchen.

"Well, Ok, no. But we should be help him redress his wrongs. Bring the atrocities to light."

"Well if the history books are full of them, I say they already are." Giles argued.

"Oh, well, giving his land back."

"It's not exactly ours to give."

"You know I don't think you wanna help. I think you wanna slay the demon, then go la, la, la."

"And I think your sympathy for his plight has blinded you to certain urgent facts. We have to stop this thing."

"Ok, Unfeeling Guy."

"Oh, Willow, that's not fair." Giles sighed, removing his glasses to stare at the girl.

"I have to baste." Buffy mumbled, rushing back into the kitchen and away from the argument.

Giles watched her go, before turning back to Willow, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Willow, I have reason to believe that Buffy maybe in particular danger from this menace." taking a seat on his desk.

She glanced at the kitchen before whispering back. "You mean, Angel? I saw him too."

"That's not terrible stealthy of him."

"I think he's lost his edge." Willow looked at him intently.

"But Buffy doesn't know?" he asked quickly.

"No, no. Not a peep. - Are you okay? You know, with him being back?"

Giles looked at his hands, his fingers tightening around the tea-towel. "I'm fine. - But this is why I think we should all keep a level head in this."

"And I think mine is the level head and yours is the one things would roll off of."

Giles narrowed his gaze at her, opening his mouth to argue, but was drawn to a halt by another knock on the front door. Buffy rushed out of the kitchen to answer the door, Giles and Willow staring with widened eyes at the sight of Xander and Anya.

"Happy Thanksgiving."

"Xander!" Willow gasped.

"You look like death." Giles remarked with a worried frown.

"Are you ok?"

"You didn't bring rolls?"

"Sorry, a little preoccupied being sick." Xander replied as Anya dragged him into the apartment. Dropping him down on the couch, cringing as a high pitch cry filled the room.

Giles lifted Sam from the travel crib as Buffy heading back to the kitchen to heat a bottle, she handed it to Giles as he paced the crying boy back and forth. Buffy going back to the kitchen to grab the mixing bowl, settling on the end of the couch by Xander's feet.

"The doctor couldn't figure out that was wrong with me. He said I had a lot of symptoms that didn't connect."

"I think they do connect." Buffy said, whisking the cream.

"What, to this Chumash spirit vengeance guy?"

"Will, didn't you say the Chumash got all diseased when they were hauled up in the mission?"

"Yeah. This had a better account of everything. It lists the various…"

"Various?" Xander gasped. "As in….?"

"Well, the important this in not to panic."

"Will, you just recited the mystical panic-causing incantation, so little hope there. Let's talk about the various."

Willow lowered her eyes guiltily. "Well, they did suffer from malaria, some smallpox…."

"I was gonna say smallpox." Anya announced.

"You know, syphilis. But basically standard…."

"Syphilis?" Xander yelped.

"Well….but this is probably mystical and it'll go away as soon as…"

"As soon as what?" Buffy quizzed. "We still don't know what we're gonna do."

"Maybe I can find something." Willow replied, pulling more books towards her.

"Let's give him some land." Giles said to Sam. "That'll clear everything up."

"Sarcasm accomplishes nothing, Giles." Buffy scolded.

"It's sort of an end in itself." Giles snipped back, setting the bottle on the desk and moving Sam to his shoulder.

"Hey, can we come rocketing back to the part about me and my new syphilis?" Xander pleaded miserably.

"It'll make you blind and insane. But it won't kill you." Anya informed him. "The small pox will."

"Maybe there's a Wiccan spell that can cure it?" Willow shrugged. "You know, something regular medicine doesn't know about. Ooh, there was a potion!" she shuffled through the books, pulling out a piece of paper. "Sage, salt….onion?"

"That's the stuffing." Buffy frowned.

"Oh God." Xander groaned.

"Oh. You're gonna get vesicles and pustules. They have pictures." Anya said, turning the book to show Xander.

"I hate this guy."

"He's just doing what was done to him." Willow defended.

"I didn't give him syphilis."

"No but you freed his spirit." Giles murmured, pacing the couch with Sam on his hip. "And after a century of unrest, he saw you as one of his oppressors."

"What, so he rises up and infects the first guy he sees? That's no fair." Xander complained.

"Like you've never woken up cranky." Willow remarked.

"But why the others?" Giles asked, his brows furrowing in concentration. "Why them in particularly?"

"So we take this guy out." Xander said almost panicked. "Buffy, is for to be slaying sometime soon, yeah?"

"That's sort of the question before the court." Buffy replied, looking from Willow to Giles uncertainly.

"Question?"

"There are two side to it." Willow said, staring at him intensely.

"To slaying him? Well, the member from the Syphilis votes yea."

"It's not that simple." Willow replied with a frown.

"He's a vengeance demon. You don't talk to vengeance demons. You kill them." Xander snapped.

The room feel silent, everyone's eyes locking on Anya.

"I didn't know you felt that way."

"What?"

"Anyway, he's a spirit, not a demon." Willow said, trying to stave of the brewing argument.

"Yes and we've never faced this sort of spirit before. We don't know what will kill it." Giles said, growing frustrated.

"Again with the killing." Willow snapped.

"Figuratively speaking. Or bind it. Or whatever. Yes Willow we all appreciate you perspective."

Buffy shifted uncomfortably on the couch, her wrist moving quicker as she put all her concentration into the mix, trying to ignore the war going on around her. "This is no good!" she yelled, shooting to her feet.

Everyone fell silent to stare at her.

"It needs more condensed milk." she murmured, strolling back into the kitchen.

Giles rushed after her. "Buffy, Xander is in danger. Are you sure the solution is pie?"

"Over bickering and confusion, I'll take pie." Buffy snapped.

"We will find a solution." Giles said more softly, seeing the stress in Buffy's eyes and shoulders. He brushed his hand over her shoulder, his finger rubbing comfortingly at the back of her neck.

Buffy closed her eyes for a moment. "And we will have a nice dinner. Both. End of story." she opened her eyes, looking up at him. "I'm going to have Thanksgiving, and it'll be perfect." he eyes shifting to Sam, a smile pulling at her lips.

Giles sighed. "Hus won't stop. Vengeance is never sated, Buffy. Hared is a cycle All he will do is kill."

A knock at the door silence the argument. Buffy looked at Giles with a frown. He followed her and her mixing bowl to the door. She opened it to nothing. Stepping out into the sunlight, Buffy looked around, and suddenly found her arms full of Spike.

"Help me."

Buffy reacted instantly, throwing the vamp off, straight into the sunlight where he screamed and scrambled to get back into the shade. Giles glaring at him from behind Buffy.

"What part of help me do you not understand?" Spike yelled.

"The part where I help you."

"Come on. I'm parboiling out here." Spike pleaded, the air filling with the scent of burning flesh.

Buffy held out her hand, Giles placing a stake in her palm. "What me to help make it quicker?"

"Invite me in!"

"No." Buffy looked over her shoulder at Giles.

"Very unlikely."

Spike rushed the door and was thrown back instantly. Buffy smirked, then grinned as a babbling giggle echoed in her ear. She turned to see Sam smiling.

"Damn it." Spike snapped, panting and coughing. "Look, I'm safe. I can't bite anyone. Willow, tell em what I did."

Willow got to her feet, staring at him. "You said you were gonna kill me, then Buffy."

Spike groaned, narrowing his eyes at the woman. "Yes. Bad, but let's skip to the part where I couldn't bite you."

Willow nodded. "It's true. He had trouble performing."

Spike's gaze narrowed again. "Yeah. IT looks like they've done me for good."

"Huh, what are you saying?" Giles pressed, frowning at the vamp.

"I'm say that Spike had a little trip to the vet, and now he doesn't chase the other puppies any more. I can't bite anything. I can't even hit people."

"So you haven't murdered anybody lately? Let's be best pals."

Giles bit back a grin.

"I've got information. - About the soldier boy you were fighting. I've got the inside scoop. Come on! What have you got to be afraid of?" Spike pleaded.

Giles and Buffy shared a look. Giles shrugged. "Up to you."

Buffy looked at the vamp for a few more seconds before stepping back, stake tight in her palm. Giles moved as far away as possible with Sam.

"Alright Spike. Come in."

Spike rushed forward, breathing a sigh of relief, dropping his tattered blanket. Straightening up and looking around. "Alright, so what's for dinner." he grinned. "Ow, hey." he yelled as Buffy gripped the back of his neck, dragging him to a chair and throwing him down.

"Anya can you….?" she nodded to the kitchen.

The ex-demon nodded and strolled over to the kitchen.

Buffy looked back to Giles. "Rope?"

He settled Sam in his cot and marching to the closet in the back, returning a few moments later with rope, helping Buffy tie the vampire to the chair.

"Ow, Blood hell, woman! You're cuttin off my circulation." Spike complained.

"You don't have circulation."

"Well it pinches." he snapped.

"Well, get used to it. I have more important worries."

"I came to you in friendship."

Buffy stared at him with a raised brow.

"Well, all right, seething hatred. But I've got useful information and I feel I'm being mistreated."

"So tell me everything you know."

"I'm too hungry to remember everything.

"Then sit." she said, slapping him across the head.

"Um, how much butter goes in with these?" Anya asked from the kitchen.

"Half a stick, and a quarter cup of brandy. - You do have brandy, don't you?"

Giles looked up at her. "Huh, what? Oh yes. On the bookcase."

"I wouldn't say no to a brandy." Spike remarked.

"What's wrong?" Buffy frowned.

"The victims. Apart from Xander, Hus had targeted authority figures. Father Gabriel, the curator of the cultural centre…Who else fits this pattern?"

"Just a small brandy."

"The Dean. Dean Guerrero. He's the king of us and he was at the ceremony."

"A likely candidate. We should warn him."

"Will, anything in those books about how to stop a Native American spirit guy. Some nice, non-judgemental way to, you know, kill him?"

Willow frowned at her. "I'm not gonna help you kill him. I'm not on board."

"Will, what choice do we have?" Buffy pleaded.

"Buffy, this isn't a Western. We're not a Fort Giles with the cavalry come to save us. It's one lonely guy. Oppressed warrior guy, who's just trying to…"

"Kill a lot of people?"

"Well, I didn't say he was right." Willow shrugged.

"Will, you know how bad I feel about this. It's eating me up. A quarter cup and let it simmer." Buffy said as Anya strolled past with the brandy. "But even though it's hard, we have to end this. Yes, he's been wrong, and I personally would be ready to apologize but I…."

"Oh, someone put a stake in me!" Spike yelled warily.

"You got a lot of volunteers in here." Xander grumbled from the couch.

"I just can't take all this mamby-pamby boohooking about the bloody Indians."

"Uh, the preferred term is…."

"You won. Alright! You came in, and ya killed them and ya took their land. That's what conquering nations do. It's what Caesar did, and he not going around saying I came, I conquered, I felt really bad about it. The history of the world is not people make friends. You had better weapons and you massacred them. End of story."

"Well, I think the Spaniards actually did a lot of….not that I don't like Spaniards…" Buffy replied awkwardly.

"Listen to you. How are you gonna fight anyone with that attitude?" Spike groaned.

"We don't wanna fight anyone." Willow whined.

"I just wanna have Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, good luck." Spike scoffed.

"If we could just talk to him…." Willow insisted.

"You exterminated his race. What could you possibly say that would make him feel better? It's kill or be killed here. Take your bloody pick."

"Maybe it's the syphilis talkin, but…some of that made sense."

"I made a lot of these points earlier, but it's fine. No one listens to me." Giles said to Sam, who giggled up at him.

"Fine, ok. But someone still has to go warn the dean."

"I'll go. I need the air." Willow mumbled miserably.

"Not alone."

"I'll go." Anya volunteered.

"Me too." Xander moaned, pushing himself off the couch.

"You sure you're up to it?" Buffy frowned.

"Oh, leave that one. He looks like he's ready to drop, and I think I can eat someone if he's already dead."

"I'm up to it." Xander nodded, dragging himself to the door.

"I'll keep on looking for a solution." Giles called after them.

"Yeah. Guys, the dean's house is up past the gym. And hurry! Dinner's in an hour!" Buffy yelled.

The door close with a heavy click and Buffy turned her attention back to the kitchen, Giles dropping down at the dining table they'd borrow from a neighbour with Willow's books.

"You could be setting that!" Buffy called from the kitchen.

Spike smirked as Giles got up again, strolling into the kitchen to get the tablecloth and silverwear. "Looks like dad's whipped. - Probably likes that." he whispered to Sam with a cheeky grin. "It's always the uptight quiet one. - Ow" his head shot around as a potato dropped to the floor beside him, his eyes glaring at the slayer. Sam giggling beside him.

"Shut up."

"I was just making talking to the kid. It's not like it understands what I'm saying anyway. Do ya, brat. Ouch!" he yelled as other vegetable collided with his head.

"Don't call my son a brat." Giles snapped furiously.

Spike looked from the ex-watcher to the kid, who was still grinning up at him and rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to smile back.

"Hey. When do I get fed?" He demanded.

"Later. I hope the others are ok." Buffy said, helping Giles with the table.

"Do you know what happens to vamps who don't get to feet?"

Giles paused, looking at the vampire. "I always wondered about that actually."

"Giles, plates."

"Living skeletons, mate. Like famine pictures from those dusty countries. Only not half as funny."

"You can have gravy. That has blood in it, right." Buffy told him.

"Do you know what else had blood in it? Blood."

"Do I have to gag you? Because I am not going to listen to you whine all thought my dinner. It's going to be nice, quiet, civilised…" Buffy's head snapped around as an arrow imbedded itself in her Pilgrim centrepiece to find Hus aiming another one at her. "You. - Listen, maybe I wasn't clear about how terrible we all feel. We're trying to help."

Giles rushed for Sam, lifting him out of the cot and carrying him back to the table, laying him safely beneath, out of the way of flying arrows.

"What's goin on?" Spike said, banging himself around in the chair.

"It isn't working." Giles said, grabbing Buffy's arm and tugging her under the table too.

"You can have casinos now." he called desperately, spinning around at the sound of breaking glass to see another Indian warrior at the window.

"Get down!" Giles yelled, pulling her under the table as two arrows landed in the back of the couch.

"What about me? You gonna leave me here like this?" Spike snapped, looking down at his chest when an arrow pieced him. "Hey, watch the heart!"

When the phone began to ring Giles risked crawling out from beneath the table to answer it. "Hello? Yes. Yes, we're well aware of that. We're under siege now, actually. Thank you."

"Who was that?"

Giles opened his mouth to reply, remembering just in time that Buffy wasn't meant to know about Angel. "A….um, someone. We need a plan."

"Yes. Let's talk about it some more." Spike snipped.

"Where's your weapons chest?"

"Over there?" Giles nodded to the other side of the room, where he'd moved it earlier that day.

Buffy glance from Sam to the chest. She had to risk it. Taking a breath she crawled out from under the table. She just reached it when an arrow impacted her arm. "Ow!"

"Buffy!" Giles yelled, dragging her back under the table. Helping her pulled the thing out, grabbing one of the napkins from the table to stop the bleeding.

"Remember that conquering nations thing? Forget it. Apologise."

"Shut up, Spike."

"Fine. I'll do it myself. Hey. Sorry. Sorry about that, chief.

"How many?"

"Uh, the leader, upstairs. Two by the living-room windows. One through the window by the door."

"There's too many."

"We need help." Giles sighed, meeting Buffy's gaze, his hand pressed hard against her wound.

"We need to get to the chest."

Giles looked over at it for a long moment, then to the chairs. Grabbing the leg of one he slipped out from under the table, using it as a shield as he crawled to the chest. Buffy held her breath as she watched in slow motion as he finally reached it , dragging it back. Flipping the heavy lid open they reached for the crossbows. Loading them quickly.

"Ok. One, two, three."

The pair ducked out from under the table, firing a bolt in opposite directions. Buffy aiming for Hus, while Giles tried for one of the warrior's by the living-room window. Both missing. They ducked back down again.

"Enough!" Hus yelled, jumping through the upstairs window.

Buffy rushed to meet him, trading blows as Giles, remained under the table, body curled over Sam, his eyes watching her every move. When he head more glass break he quickly crawled out, grabbing a mace from the chest and swing widely at the warriors. The instinct to protect his child keeping him focused.

"Giles, these guys, they don't die!" Buffy yelled when her attempt to stab Hus failed.

"But busy over here." he groaned as he was thrown into the wall, the warrior's hand tight around his neck.

Hus was back on his feet again, rushing at her, throwing her around the room. Like Giles her instinct to protect took hold, keeping her aware of her surrounding. She fought to keep the fighting away from the table. The door crashed open behind her and she spared a second to see Xander land on the floor, before regaining her focus. Not long after, she noting Willow and Anya coming to aid Xander.

As she fought Hus lost his knife, she quickly reached for it, swinging it at his arm, slicing through his flesh. Hus stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with surprised and fury.

"You own knife can kill you." Buffy murmured to herself. She stared at him, her eyes widening at his body transformed before her.

"A bear!" Spike yelled. "You made a bear!"

"I didn't mean too." Buffy said, shocked and panicked.

"Undo it! Undo it!"

The thing roar, rising onto his hind legs and swing at her, gripping her tight. Throwing her over the couch.

"Hey, Gentle Ben!" Xander yelled. "Over here!"

The bear turned, growling at him as Xander threw potatoes at him. "That's for giving me syphilis."

The distraction was enough to give Buffy a chance to attack, climbing onto the couch he leant of the bear, bring Hus's knife down into his heart. The bear growled, before transforming back into Hus, then fading into a green mist. The other warriors vanishing soon after.

Buffy rushed to the table, scooping up Sam and squeezing him tight, Giles walking over to join her on unsteady feet, pressing a kiss to her temple as he hugged them both tight.

"I think we need to invest in some kind of safe room for him." Buffy murmured, looking from Giles to Sam, and back again.

"Are you alight?" he asked, lifting her arm which was already heeling.

"I'm fine." she smiled. "Just another day at the office."

Giles glanced around at the others. "Everyone?"

"Fine." they said in unison.

As he lifted his gaze, he caught sight of Angel through the door, and haunted look in his eyes. They two men met gazes and Giles nodded slight before watching the vampires walk away.

"What happened? Did we win?" Spike asked from the floor.

It took them twenty minutes to get the room at least partially liveable again, before they finally were able to settle down to eat the mean Buffy had prepared. Sam sat on Buffy's lap. She didn't want to put him down, needing him near. He sat reaching for things off her plate, squishing them in his small cubby hands. No one really spoke, they were all too tired.

"I feel lousy." Willow murmured as she stabbed at her pumpkin pie.

"Well, the turkey came out rather splendidly." Giles smiled down the table at Buffy.

"Oh, it was yummy." Willow insisted with a nod. "It's just…Did you see me? Two seconds of conflict with an indigenous person and I turn into General Custer."

"Violence does that. You know, instinct takes over." Giles said comfortingly.

"Yeah. That's the fun." Spike grumbled.

"Nobody asked you." Xander snapped.

"Oh, lay off. You all had a fine meal. But me? An entire siege. You'd think one of you would bleed a little."

Buffy looked at Giles, fighting a smile.

"Well, good work Buffy, on both counts."

Buffy nodded. "Thanks."

"You should be very please. It was an excellent meal." Giles said encouragingly.

Buffy sighed. "It wasn't exactly a perfect Thanksgiving."

"I don't know. Seemed kinda right to me. A bunch of anticipation, a big fight, and now we're all sleepy." Xander said smiling.

"And we did all survive." Giles chuckled.

"I guess that much is true. First Thanksgiving of our own, and we all got through it."

"And you know what? I think my syphilis is clearin' right up." Xander grinned merrily.

"And they say romance is dead. Or maybe they just wish it."

"Well, maybe we started a new tradition this year." Willow grinned. "Or maybe not." she mumbled as everyone stared at her. "But at least we all worked together. It was like old times."

"Yeah. Especially with Angel bein' here and everything." Xander murmured.

"What?" Buffy stared dumbfounded at the table, everyone's eyes fixed on her.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter was a little dull being as episode based as it was. I hope my additons made it worth it though. **


	7. Past Struggles, Future Worries

**A/N: This chapter is pretty episode heavy, lots of conversations taken from the episode (but it's necessary.) which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episodes - Something Blue.**

* * *

**Past Struggles, Future Worries.**

"Well?" Buffy snapped, her arms folded over her chest.

Giles looked towards the bathroom, where they tied up Spike. He really didn't want to have this conversation with the vampire around. The others had left an hour ago when the tension between Buffy and Giles had become too suffocating and Giles couldn't blame them, if he could leave he would.

"I'm waiting. Why the hell didn't you tell me Angel was in town?"

"Because he didn't want you to know." Giles sighed.

Buffy stared at him. He saw the gleam of hurt in her eyes, and his stomach dropped. Turning, Giles strolled causally over to the kitchen counter and the brandy Anya had left sitting there. Pulling a glass from the cupboard he poured himself a large one, throwing it back so it scorched his throat, hopefully dislodging the lump there.

"He didn't? Or _you _didn't?" She asked; eyes narrow and accusing.

Giles took a sharp intake of breath, turning to glare at his lover. "Why wouldn't I want you to know?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you're jealous." She didn't know why she was so mad? Or who she was really mad at? But Giles was here, Angel wasn't, so he was getting the brunt of her anger. "You were always jealous of Angel, even when I chose you."

Giles stared at her in a gaping silence. He couldn't deny that he was jealous, then and now. But the accusation put into words opened a wounded he thought heal. "And do I have a reason to be jealous?" Giles puzzled, watching her closely.

Buffy's eyes grew wide. "No!"

"Don't I? Then why are you so upset?"

"Because you lied to me?"

"Like you lied when Angel came back from hell."

"That was….." she shook her head. "That was different."

"Was it? You lied to protect him, we lied to protect you."

They both fell silent for a long moment, just watching each other. Finally Buffy sighed and dropped down on the nearest chair.

"I just….wish I'd known." she murmured sadly. "Despite every thing, he's still my friend. I would have liked to say hello."

Giles poured himself another drink and took a seat across the table from her, head down, staring down at the dark liquor. "You'll never be just a friend to him Buffy." he whispered painfully. "And he'll never be that to you." he sucked in a breath, taking a large gulp of his drink. "You two share a connection. He was your first….everything."

Buffy's head snapped around to stare at her boyfriend, her gaze racking his features, seeing the uncertainly, the hurt and the doubt. Her chest ached at the sight, pushing herself out of the chair she walked around to hover over him, her fingers combing gently through his hair. When he leant back to look up at her Buffy slipped onto his lap, her hands cradling the sides of his face. "I can't chance my past Giles, and he was a large part of that."

"I know." he whispered.

"But I made my decision."

"But would you have made that same decision if Sam….?" his gaze shifted to the cot.

Buffy followed his gaze and felt the doubts pulling at her insides. She didn't want to lie to him. She wasn't sure things would have turned out this way if she hadn't gotten pregnant. If she hadn't have gone to Giles after sending Angel to hell. She couldn't say what her life would have been if she'd taken another path. But she hadn't, and she didn't wish she had. Buffy turned her gaze back to Giles, turning his head to look at her. She couldn't tell him, not properly, what as in her heart. So instead she kissed him, putting everything she felt into that single kiss. Giles arms looping around her, pulling her tight against him. Buffy holding on as if afraid to loose him.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy was still being haunted by her conversation with Giles days later. He wished she could say that if she hadn't gotten pregnant that she'd have still ended up with Giles, but they both knew the truth. She would have gone back to Angel, because no matter what happened or who she was with there was still a part of her that would always love him. Giles knew that, and that's what made everything so much worse. Things had been strained between them for days, and they hadn't been made any better by Spike constant presence. The sooner he would out of their lives the better.

It hadn't just been tense with Giles; Willow seemed more on edge than usual. She'd thought her friend was finally getting over her break-up and was ready to move on, but she's been distant of late, and there hadn't been any sign of Riley in days.

Speak of the devil. Buffy smiled to herself as she strolled through the college foyer and found him helping hang a banner for the Lesbian Alliance. Buffy smiled as he finished and turned to see her.

"Hey, Buffy"

"Is there something you wanna tell me?"

"What?" Riley frowned.

Buffy turned her gaze to the banner.

"Oh…" Riley chuckled. "Yes. I am a lesbian."

"Well, it's good that you're so open about it." She replied with a serious face, but the amusement with in her eyes.

"Oh, hey. How's Willow? I haven't seen her around much. - I was thinking…" he glanced nervously down at his feet.

Buffy smirked. "Careful, don't strain anything."

Riley laughed nervously. "Right, yeah…well the weathers been so nice lately…."

"It's California, it's always nice." Buffy grinned.

"Yeah, I guess it is. I'm still getting used to the sunshine in December thing. No snow or icy wind. It's a little….weird."

"We had snow once. Last year…wait, no year before."

"Right, yeah. I remember that. Weird."

"That's Sunnydale. It's on the signs. Sunnydale, come for the sunshine, stay for the weird."

Riley laughed.

"Anyway, what were you thinking?"

"Oh, uh….Willow…"

"You were thinking about Willow?" Buffy said with bright wide eyes.

"Yeah, I mean….like….as friends…."

"Riley, you don't have to pretend with me, you know. I've kinda already worked out that your like….interested."

Riley blushed. "I'm that obvious?" hanging his head.

"I'm really observant."

Riley frowned. "Didn't you ask what the class assignment was three times yesterday?"

"And by observant I mean forget everything that isn't Willow related."

Riley smiled and nodded. "Right. - Well, do you think that she…Willow would be up for say….a picnic."

"Shouldn't you ask her?"

"I've tried calling by she's not answering my calls and she keeps ducking out of class before I can say anything."

Buffy frowned. "She's avoiding you?"

Riley shrugged. "I figured she was busy with classes and stuff. - So you think she's avoiding me?"

"No! No….I mean….I don't think….I'll talk to her. Get her to call you."

Riley smiled. "Thanks.

Buffy watched Riley rush away with a goofy grin, her inside tied tight with concern. She really was going to have to talk to Will, 'cause Riley was a great guy and she really needed to move on.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy decided the best way to talk to her friend was to drag her along on patrol. Walk, talking, kill a few vampires. Perfect girl time.

"There really nice, and fun. With food and sunshine."

"I know what a picnic its Buffy." Willow laughed.

"Right, so you like them right? Picnics."

Willow shrugged. "I guess. - Hey have you and Giles spoken to your mom yet."

"Not yet, she's staying another week at my aunts." Buffy announced with relief. "…..so picnic?"

Willow paused, turning to stare at her friend. "Are you and Giles still fighting over the whole Angel thing?"

"No! - No…" she scoffed. "We're fine. Everything's fine."

Willow didn't look at all convinced. "Buffy."

"Okay so we've been a little…off lately. But you know, Angel coming back like that, it opened up some old wounds for both of us. - I think he still expects me to turn around and run back to him." Buffy shook her head. "Which is ridiculous. I….Angel and I are over."

"But you still care about him?"

"Of course I do. I mean he was my first….everything. Kinda. - But Giles is who I chose to be with."

"Because of Sam?"

"What? No. - I….I don't know. I want to say…." she shook her head once more. "….I mean, if I'd really wanted to be with Angel, I could have right? I mean, Sam or no. Angel would have been fine with it. He would have made a great dad. - But I didn't, I chose Giles."

Willow looked at her thoughtfully. "Have you told him that?"

"No. - It's always so hard talking about this stuff. He's like….Giles, you know."

"He's your boyfriend Buffy; you need to talk to him about it."

Buffy exhaled dramatically.

"And then you have to tell your mom."

"Yeah, yeah." Buffy huffed. "So, what about you and Riley?"

Willow stiffened. "Uh?"

"You and Riley. He says your avoiding him."

"You spoke to Riley about me?" she snapped angrily.

"He asked how you were and we got talking. He was thinking about asking you out for a p…."

"A picnic? So you're what, seeing if the coast is clear for him?"

Buffy frowned. "No? What? No - Of course….Willow, he really likes you and I know you like him. - And Oz has been gone for a while…."

"I know! God, you don't think I know that? I'm just not ready!" Willow snapped furiously. "Stop pushing!" she yelled, turning to storm away.

"Will! Will! I just meant…." Buffy sighed miserably as Willow vanished around a corner heading back to the dorm.

**~Don't Lie~**

"What's wrong?" Giles asked the moment she walked through the door looking and feeling tired.

Buffy strolled over to the couch and dropped down, careful to avoid Sam's feet has he sat on his fathers lap. The little boy held out his arms and Buffy took him, smiling down. Suddenly the weight she'd been carrying most of the night was gone. She sighed with relief, her head dropping onto Giles shoulder.

"So, what's wrong?" he murmured against her hair, his arm coming around her shoulders.

"Had a fight with Will?" Buffy mumbled as she played and smiled as Sam.

"A fight? About?"

"Riley. - I was just saying that she might want to go out with him. He's nice and he likes her….but she flipped out."

"Maybe she's not ready to move on so soon?"

"It's a picnic, Giles, not an engagement. She can't keep waiting for Oz to come back."

Giles sighed, nodding against her hair. "I know. Give her a little bit more time."

"Hey! You planning on feeding me at some point!"

Giles growled. "He hasn't shut up all fu….flipping day. - I swear the next time he…."

"Hey, I can hear you you know!" Spike yelled from the bathroom.

"Where's the stake?" Giles growled pushing himself off the couch.

Buffy's hand snapped out to pull him back down. "Just ignore him." she whispered, pulling him into a slow kiss.

"Jesus, if you two are going to start screwing on the couch, at least let me watch. It's no fun without the visual."

Buffy pulled away with an eye roll. "I'll see to it. May as well find out what he knows." she pressed a kiss to Sam's head and handed him over.

"Don't forget my blood!" Spike yelled.

Buffy sent Giles a look before strolling into the bathroom and sitting down on the edge of the tub.

"So, you saw their faces but you can't describe them?"

Spike clenched his jaw, turning to glare at her. "We've already been through this…."they were human. Two eyes each, kind of in the middle."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "And the lab?"

"Underground." he sighed warily. "I came out thought an air vent. I don't know exactly where." he huffed. "I'm done. Put the telly on. - It's about time. Hope you got it warm enough." Spike snapped as Giles strolled into the bathroom, a mug of warm blood in one hand and Sam cradled in his other arm.

Giles handed the blood to Spike with a frustrated sigh before stepping back to lean on the basin, as Buffy fed him through a strew. Sam's pale green eyes fixed on Spike.

"I don't know why you're so dainty all of a sudden…" he smirked, glancing past Buffy to Giles. "You've done this for Angel. You must have."

Giles back stiffened, his gaze narrowing.

"Ok." Buffy yanked the mug away.

"Hey! Give it!" Spike yelled around the strew hanging from his lips.

"That's it. The invalid-amnesiac routine is over." Buffy said firmly, folding her arms over her chest. "The kitchen is closed until you tell me something useful about the commandos."

"I'm trying to remember. It was very traumatic." Spike whined.

"How long are you gonna pull this crap?"

"How long will I live if I tell you?"

Giles clenched his jaw, taking a step forward. "Spike, we have no intention of killing a harmless um….creature, but we have to know what's been done to you. We can't let you go until we're sure you're impotent…."

Buffy couldn't help but giggle, turning to smile at Giles, who was fighting his own laugh.

"Hey!" Spike glared.

"…Or…sorry, poor choice of words. Until we know that you're…."

"Flaccid?" Buffy finished with a chuckle.

"You are one step away, missy." Spike warned.

"Giles, help! He's gonna scold me." Buffy said in a little girl voice, a smirk painted across her face.

Spike lunged forward, but the chains Giles had secured him with held him in the tub. Buffy stood with her hands on her hip unimpressed, and somewhat bored.

"You know what?" Buffy said, with a softer voice, moving to knee down beside the bathtub. "I don't think you want us to let you go. Maybe we made it a little too comfy in here for ya."

"Comfy?" Spike scoffed. "I'm chained in a bathtub, drinking pig's blood from a novelty mug. Doesn't rate huge in the Zagat's guide."

"You want something nicer?" Buffy said, dropping her voice a little more, almost seductive, before leaning back and exposing her neck. "Look at my poor neck, all bare and tender and exposed. All that blood just pumping away."

Giles looked at the ceiling for a moment, before rolling his eyes at Sam. "Oh please." he turned and headed for the door.

"Giles, make her stop!" Spike called helplessly.

"If those two don't kill each other, I might lend a hand." he said to Sam had he headed back to the couch, dropping down with the boy in his lap.

Sam grinned babyishly up at his father and Giles pulled him in closer.

"She's a terrible person your mum." he laughed.

The phone rang and Giles groaned as he got up to answer it. "Willow? Willow what's wrong? - Of course." he lowered the phone to his chest. "Buffy!"

Buffy rushed out from the back room. "What?" she asked in a panic.

"It's Willow." he said quietly, holding out the phone. "She's crying."

"Will? What's…yeah, sure? I'll be there as soon as I can." she hung up and grabbed her coat. "I've got to go. I'll be back as soon….."

"It's fine, go." he waved his hand at her.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy didn't get back to Giles and Sam until the next day, having decided to stay with Willow and help her through her grief. She guessed Willow hadn't really come to terms with Oz leaving until all his stuff was gone and it was clear he wasn't coming back. Buffy had felt guilty for not really seeing it, not seeing the pain her friend was truly in, and trying to force her to move on with Riley.

She walked down the steps into the courtyard of Giles apartment building with that weight on her shoulders again. Only this time didn't ease upon seeing Giles and Sam.

"How's Willow?" Giles asked from the table where he was feeding Sam his breakfast.

She pressed a kiss to both of their head before taking a seat. "Terrible. I hadn't realised how much she'd been burying. She's a wreck."

Giles nodded sadly. "I'll get there." he sighed, lifting a spoon to Sam's lips.

"I think I need to spend more time with her, for a while. - Maybe stay at the dorm some more."

Giles frowned but nodded. "When does you're mum get back?"

"Saturday afternoon." She looked sadly at Sam. They'd had such a wonderful time being together as a family. She really didn't want it to end. _It doesn't have to_. Her mind pointed out. _Just tell mom and move in_. Like it was that easy. _It can be. _"We need to talk to mom." Buffy said suddenly, drawing Giles head up with a snap.

"Pardon?"

"We need to speak to my mom about us. I don't want this anymore."

"This?"

"Being away from you and Sam. I want us to be together, properly."

Giles smiled. "I want that too."

"So we'll talk to mom. When she gets back." Buffy nodded confidently.

"Deal."

The pair shared a warm promising look before Buffy reach for the spoon to finish feeding Sam.

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles headed to the dorms hoping, that afternoon with Sam, planning on taking Buffy out for lunch.

"Giles? What are you doing here?"

"I…we were looking for Buffy."

"Oh…she's still in class." Willow said, smiling sadly at Sam.

Giles looked around the room shifting awkwardly. "So….how are you….?"

Willow sighed. "She told you didn't see? - Of course she told you. I'm…." she shrugged. "I….had an idea." Willow suddenly announced in a desperate change of subject. "About Spike. I was thinking about a truth spell…." she scrambled off the bed and rummaged through her bag. "I got the motherwort….I was going to…."

Giles moved around the buggy to stop in front of the young woman. "Willow, I don't think….It might not be wise for you to do magic alone right now. Your energy's too unfocused." he said with concern.

"Well, that's not true. I'm a little off, sure. I mean I did this spell to have my will done, I was hoping it would make me feel better, but it just went kablooey. - But I'm not incompetent."

"I just meant, you're grieving, so it might be wise to take a break from doing spells without supervision."

"So I get punished cos I'm in pain?"

"It's not punishment. I'm saying it because…."

"Oh, you care. Yeah. Everybody cares." Willow snapped. "But nobody wants to be inconvenienced. You all want me to take the time and go through the pain, as long as you don't have to hear about it."

"Now that's not fair." Giles snapped.

"Isn't it? Cos I'm doing the best I can, and it doesn't seem to be enough for you guys." Willow said desperately.

"And I see how you could feel that way. I do…."

"No, you don't. You say that you do, but you don't see anything!"

Giles head spun, his breath catching for a second. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, a small headache starting behind them. "Erm….Ohh, sorry. Erm…Sorry. Perhaps I'd better be going. - Tell Buffy we came by if you see her." He grabbed the stroller and pulled open the door. "Let's talk about this later." he said as he back out of the room. "Bye."

He rolled the stroller down the hall and had to apologize to three people on the way. He decided it might be safer to call a cab and go home before his migraine really started.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy walked back into the dorm room a couple of hours later to find Willow cleaning out Amy the Rat's cage, looking miserable. "What's wrong?"

"Giles." Willow sighed.

"What about him."

"We had a fight?"

Buffy frowned. "He was here?"

Willow looked up, smiling apologetically. "Yeah. Sorry. - He came by with Sam, I think he was going to take you out for lunch but then we argued."

Buffy sighed sadly, wishing she'd been there. "What about?"

"Magic."

"What about it?"

"He says I shouldn't be practicing."

Buffy frowned.

"I mean, I'm going through something. I just don't see why he was getting down on me."

Buffy headed for her bed, pulling off her jacket as she went. "Giles just worries. Spells can be dangerous. It doesn't mean he thinks you're a bad witch."

"I am a bad witch." Willow pouted.

"No. you're a good witch.

"I'm not kidding anyone. If I had any real power, I could've made Oz stay with me."

"Will, you wouldn't have wanted him to stay…"

"I didn't have the guts to do the spell on Veruca and my 'I will it so' spell went nowhere." Willow huffed. "The only real witch here is fuzzy little Amy."

Buffy glanced over at the rat on Willow's bed. "I think you're being too hard on yourself."

"She's got access to powers I can't even invoke. I mean, first she's a perfectly normal girl, then poof, she's a rat. I could never do something like that."

Buffy sighed, getting to her feet as the phone began to ring. "Hello? - I'll be right there." she sighed as she hung up. "Spike escape."

"And you're going? Now?" Willow frowned.

"Sorry, duty thing."

"Well, I mean, what's the rush? Spike can't hurt anyone, right? And I figured, since I'm kinda grievey and you're not staying at Giles, we could, you know, have a girl's night. Eat sundaes and watch Steel Magnolias, and you can tell me at least I don't have diabetes."

Buffy reached into her nightstand for her stake and holy water, shrugging into her jacket, before grabbing her bag from under the bed. "Will, I can't hang out with you until I get Spike back to Giles, you know that. Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise." she rushed out of the door, barely hearing Willow's parting words. She felt guilty for abandoning her friend, but she could just let Spike vanish. They needed him, as much as she hated to admit it.

He ran down the steps and out into the cool night and skidded to a halt at the sight of Spike standing in the middle of the lawn, seemingly just waiting for her. "Thought that was gonna take longer."

"Me, too." Spike groaned. "Must have got…turned around." he rushed away and Buffy followed after him. "Hang on, this…." he looked around. "…This…this is it. Wait….No. Yes!"

"What are you talking about?" Buffy frowned.

"The lab. Commando lab. The door was right here where I escaped."

"I don't think so." Buffy's brows knitted tight together, watching Spike disbelievingly as he dropped to his knees and began to pull up the grass and dirt.

"Open up! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Spike, there's nothing there."

"Let me in! Fix me."

"Okay, drop the act." Buffy sighed warily, reaching down to grab Spike's arm.

"Get off!" he snapped, yanking away.

"Ok, that's it, I'm gonna gag you."

She hadn't expected him to attack her, so the punch to the face knocked her for six. The only consolation was that he was in more pain that she was, but she had to dish out her own punishment as she punched him in the face, before grabbing the rope from her backpack and tying him up.

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles stared into the mirror, his eyes had been stinging all afternoon and the headache hadn't eased. Almost everything was a blur, which was how Spike had managed to escape, taking advantage of his distraction. He reached for the eye drops as he heard the ruckus from the living room telling him Buffy was home with Spike.

"Giles, I accidentally killed Spike. That's ok right?"

Giles clenched his eyes tight as the drop coated his eyeballs. "Er….just a minute." he called back. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to force the migraine under control. After a few minutes he took a deep breath and opened his eyes, slipping his glasses back on, but they didn't seem to help, everything was still a blur. He turned and headed for the door, following the sound of Buffy and Spike's arguing. "If the two of you could remain civil long enough to…" he drew to a halt in the archway, staring confused at the sight of Spike on bended knee.

"It's just so sudden. I don't know what to say?"

"Just say yes, and make me the happiest man on earth."

"Oh, Spike. Of course it's yes!" Buffy grinned, leaping to her feet and into Spike arms, kissing him passionate.

"What the holy hell are you doing?" Giles yelled, seeing clearly enough to know his girlfriend was making out with the frustrating twat of a vampire. "Get your damn hands off her!"

"Oh Giles." Buffy gasped, looking guilty. "Oh…" she pulled away from Spike. "I'm so sorry. I know you'll never believe what's happened!"

Giles glared at the pair, his mouth hanging open.

"Look, I know it's a bit of a shock, and all, but…" Spike shrugged, smiling apologetically. "…you know she's always had a thing for the dark side and your all….well, tea and scones."

"Spike." Buffy scolded, rushing forward.

"I'm just saying."

"Buffy…."

"Look I know, I….it's all so sudden, and I…." she smiled back at Spike. "I love him."

Giles just stared at her, shaking his head. "Buffy, seriously. Spike?"

"Hey?"

He grabbed her arm, dragging her into the kitchen. "Buffy there's something wrong. You can't….this isn't you."

Buffy looked up at him sadly. "Giles, I know this is going to be hard for you, but you've got to accept that it just wasn't going to work for us. - But you don't have to worry, you'll still be my watcher and you'll still see Sam all the time. We won't stop you."

Crying from the other room caught their attention and Giles rushed over to snatch his son out of Spike arms. "Leave him alone."

"Hey, he's gonna have to get used to me eventually."

Buffy came up to the vampires side, slipping her arm around him. "He'll love you, just like I do." she smiled, leaning up to kiss him again.

Giles stared between the pair, a tight knot forming in his stomach and a sick feeling in his throat. With Sam in his arms he carefully made his way back to the kitchen, snatching up the phone.

"Willow, it's me. Something's happened. I need your help. I can't see very well. Everything's blurred. I'm certain it's a spell of some kind, because…." he glanced reluctantly over a Buffy and Spike, his jaw clenching tight. "…well, it seems something else is going wrong. Horribly wrong. Buffy's…..saying she's going to marry Spike. I need you to come over and help me figure this out." he hung up and looked blurrily down at Sam, who had stopped crying the instant he'd taken him away from Spike.

"It's alright, son. We'll figure out what's wrong with Mummy. Aunt Willow will be here soon. It's all just…..a big huge magical mix-up. He's not going to be…..she's not going to….." he shook his head. "I won't let that happen."

Taking a deep breath he carefully made his way back out of the kitchen to the couch, Sam held tightly in his arms.

"…and again, you're registering as Mr and Mrs Big Pile of Dust."

"Stop it! This is our wedding and you're treating it like a big joke!" Buffy whined.

Giles ignored the tight clench of his insides. It wasn't real. It was just a spell.

"Oh, pouty!" Spike teased. "Look at that lip. Gonna get it."

"If you kiss her one more time, I'm going to stake you!" Giles warned with a harsh angry tone.

"Giles." Buffy sighed sadly. "I'm sorry. - He's right; we shouldn't do this in front of him. - its wrong." she nodded.

Spike sent the watcher a glare. "Fine."

Giles turned and rested his head back against the couch, Sam lying peacefully on his chest. He once more pinched the bridge of his nose, praying for this whole nightmare to be over soon. The couch dipped beside him and he peered out from beneath his hand to see Buffy sitting beside him.

"I'm not crazy, and I know that you probably hate me right now."

"I don't hate you, Buffy." Giles said, lifting his head.

"You don't." she smiled warmly. "I'm so glad. It's important that we be civil at least for Sam's sake."

"Oh for God's sake! This is nonsense. Something is making you act this way. Don't you realise what you're doing? "

"Living the dream." Buffy grinned.

"He's gonna have to take time to get used to it, pet."

"Shut up. - Buffy…." Giles reached for Buffy's face, pulling it back to meet his eyes. "….this is all just a spell. You have to remember that. As soon as Willow gets here, we're going to fix it."

Buffy huffed frustratingly. "Giles, it's not a spell. I just realised that I love Spike."

Giles glared over at the vampire who was grinning smugly at him. "No you don't."

"Yes, I do!"

Giles groaned loudly.

"Come on, Rupert, you always knew she was gonna leave ya, she a young virile woman, she needs someone who can keep up with her, someone who can take the punches and dish them out…."

Giles leaned dangerously forward, his eyes narrow. "You lay one finger…."

Spike smirked again. "Oh I'll lay more than a fingers." he winked.

"Spike!" Buffy snapped. "Stop it."

Spike shrugged and slouched back into his chair, smiling to himself.

"I'm sorry Giles. - But he's right; it's just going to take some getting used to, for all of you. - I mean you guess weren't happy about me and Angel at first either."

Spike and Giles both glared at her.

"You weren't gonna say that name!" Spike snapped. "Just 'cause he let you moon over the twat, doesn't mean I will."

Buffy looked guiltily between the pair. "I wasn't mooning. I'm over him, I loved Giles, he knew that. Didn't you?" Buffy defended.

Giles looked at her, but didn't say anything.

An uncomfortable tension settled among them.

"So…uh….Why don't we talk about where we're gonna register?" Buffy said trying to break the tension.

"Well where would Angel like to register? And uh….can we have the photographer Angel would have wanted? And the flowers Angel would have liked?"

"Hey!" Buffy snapped, leaping to her feet. "You think I don't live with the shadow of Drusilla over my head? That I'm not wondering if you're gonna be thinking of her on our honeymoon, when you're making sweet love to me."

Giles shot out of the sofa with a pained groan only to fall back down again. Buffy spun around and rushed over to him. "Giles? - Giles are you okay?" she reached to pull Sam away from the watcher as he settled awkwardly on the couch staring at the ceiling. She cradled the little boy to her shoulder as she shook Giles shoulder. "Giles?" panic in her voice. "Giles, talk to me, are you alright?"

"I rather think not." he said finally. "I seem to be rather….rather blind. Completely, in fact."

Buffy gasped, waving a hand in front of his eyes. "What? How could this happen?" panic and concern ringing in her voice.

"A spell, I believe. - The same one that…."

"Well, we'll fix it. Don't worry."

Spike got to his feet, going though Giles's book. "What you want is a general reversal spell. We're gonna need supplies."

"Are you helping me?" Giles frowned.

"You may be her ex, but your still her watcher, and Sam's dad so, like it or not, we're family…kinda."

"See? This is how it's gonna be. Spike'll even take care of you and Sam while I'm at the magic shop." Buffy helped him sit up, handing Sam back to him before walking away.

Giles reached out for her, but she was already gone. He could hear the distinctive sound of kissing behind him and groaned, pressing his lips to Sam's head, murmuring to the boy. "It's all going to be okay."

**~Don't Lie~**

It took Buffy almost an hour to return from the magic stop with the supplies. She strolled into the apartment and made a b-line for Spike, dropping down into his lap and pulling a wedding cake topper out of the bag, while humming the wedding march. Giles was just thankful he didn't have to see it, cause listening was painful enough.

"So the plan is to cure my total, incapacitating blindness tomorrow, is it?" Giles asked frustratingly, laying flat out on the couch with a cool wash cloth over his eyes, and Sam sleeping on his chest.

"They were out of Tagis Root at the magic ship. They'll have more tomorrow. I'm on completely on top of it. - Aren't they a perfect little us?"

"I don't like him. He's insipid. Clearly human." Spike complained.

"Ohh, red paint. We could smear a little on the mouth? The blood of the innocent."

"That's my girl."

Giles clenched his fists. "Stop that right now! I can hear the smacking!" he snapped angrily. If it wasn't for his total blindness he would have stake the bastard hours ago. In fact he was wondering why he hadn't done it days ago.

Buffy groaned. "Honey, we need to talk about the invitations. Now, do you wanna be William the Bloody or just Spike? Cos either way, it's gonna look majorly weird."

"Whereas the name Buffy gives it that touch of classic elegance." Spike laughed.

"What's wrong with Buffy?"

"Such a good question." Giles murmured.

"Well, it's a terrible name."

"My mother gave me that name."

"Your mother. Yeah, she's a genius."

"Hey!" Giles snapped a little too loudly, waking Sam who instantly started to whine.

"Don't you start in on my mother."

Spike opened his mouth to argue, just as the front door flew open.

"Board up the windows and barricade the doors." Xander announced rushing in, Anya at his heels.

"What's going on?" Giles asked, carefully lifting himself up, Sam clutched tightly to his chest, now crying.

"Demons. They keep coming and coming." Anya informed them.

"I think we lost them, but I couldn't see." Xander added in a rush of words. "Spike!" he yelped. "He's all untied! - Which you probably alrighty noticed."

"Xander, calm down okay. If you lost them, that'll give us time to figure this out." Buffy said, turning to Spike. "Maybe the demons have something to do with Giles being blind."

"Giles is blind?" Anya asked, brows raised in surprise, as Xander waved his fingers in front of the watchers face.

"Stop whatever you're doing. You smell like Fruit Roll-Ups."

"This is the crack team that foils my every plan? I am deeply shamed."

"Spike's right. We really should get organised." Buffy nodded.

"Why are you holding hands?" Anya frowned.

"They have to hear it sooner or later." Spike said smiling down at Buffy, who slid her arm around his waist.

"Spike and I are getting married!" Buffy squealed.

Xander looked from the pair to Giles. "How? What? How?"

"Three excellent questions." Giles groaned.

"What are you looking at?" Spike mumbled, pulling Buffy close.

"The man I love."

"Wow now!" Xander yelped. "Giles….do something."

"And what would you like me to do, I'm blind and she's….insane."

"Hey!" Buffy gasped.

"He's just jealous." Spike said, pulling Buffy into a kiss.

"Can I be blind, too?" Xander asked, making a gagging sound. "Wait. Married! I know something. What is it?" Xander stared at the couch cushions, shuffling through his thoughts. "Everything's so familiar. Work, brain, work! Oh! Oh, oh! Willow!"

"Mm…" Buffy dragged her mouth away from Spike. "What about Willow? Honey, get off."

"Something about Willow and her griefy poor me mood swings. So, so tired of it."

"I don't have to be nice about her any more?" Anya asked hopefully.

"Well we're all tired of it, but what does that have to do with what's going on?" Buffy huffed.

"She told me I was a demon magnet and you two should get married."

"And that I didn't see anything." Giles gasped.

"She did a spell." Buffy announced angrily.

"Yes. To have her will done. Whatever she says is coming true." Giles clarified.

"And you both were affected. I probably only escaped because I'm the slayer." Buffy gasped. "Some kind of natural immunity."

"Yeah right. You're marrying Spike because you're so right for each other." Xander scoffed.

"Xander."

"That's it. You're off the usher list." Spike informed him angrily.

"Look, people, Willow is out there and she probably doesn't know what she's doing." Giles interrupted.

"We gotta find her."

"Before somebody gets really hurt." Buffy said with real concern.

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles sat waiting. Blind he couldn't go with the others to find Willow, and someone needed to stay with Sam. - And it wasn't exactly safe having Xander around now that he was attracting demons everywhere he went. He didn't want to be angry at Willow. He knew she was going through a lot, but he was. She'd risked all their lives tonight. Not to mention the pain she'd forced on him having to listening to Spike and Buffy discussing a future together. He knew it wasn't real. He kept telling himself that, but that didn't stop the ache that was settled in his chest. Losing Buffy was his worst nightmare, whether it was to death or another love. He'd felt so incredibly lucky to have gained her affections in the first place.

Giles sighed to himself, and rested his head back against the couch cushions, his hand rubbing lightly on Sam's back. He'd never expected to have a family if he was honest. - Well, he'd hoped for one once, with Jenny, but after her death, he'd never expected to feeling that strongly about anyone. What he felt for Buffy had always been there, but he was her watcher, older than her. He hadn't fooled himself into thinking that anything was going to happen. In fact he'd been thoroughly ashamed of him. - Still was a little. But he didn't really care, he loved Buffy, deeply, he didn't want to lose her ever.

He inhale sharply as the pressure lifted off his mind, and his eyes stopped burning. Slowly he opened them and breathed a sigh of relief when he could look down and see the sleeping face of his son.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy pulled back from Spike and their kiss, the horror of the situation slowly spreading over her features as she stared down at him. Her stomach rolled with the memories of what she's spent most of the evening doing. Of Giles. "Urgh! Spike lips! Lips of Spike." she was going to be sick. Violently sick. _God, Giles. What must he be thinking? Would he ever touch her again?_

"Oh! Bloody hell!" Spike yelled, rolling away from her, scrambling to his feet to spit on the floor.

Buffy raised her eyes to see Willow stood in the corner, an apologetic smile on her face. "Hi, guys." she waved.

"Hi guy! Hi guy!" Buffy snapped. "Willow do you have any idea what you did!"

Willow lowered her eyes shamefully. "Sorry. - I didn't know it….Sorry."

"I kissed Spike!" Buffy yelled with a disgusted cringe. "In front of Giles. - I told him I was going to marry Spike. - I dumped him!"

Willow bit her lip.

"He knows it was just the spell." Spike said matter-of-factly. "He'll get over it."

"Shut up Spike! - Willow, you could have gotten Xander killed. You almost destroyed my relationship, and not to mention blinding Giles! What if we hadn't been there when he went blind and he was holding Sam and fell. You could have gotten my son hurt!"

Tears pooled in Willow's eyes. "I…I'm sorry. I can't…." she sniffled. "I just wanted the pain to go away."

Buffy watched her friend closely. "Well it won't. You just have to suffer through it." she knew she was being harsh, and unforgiving, but she couldn't help the anger.

There was a tense silence as they all stared at Buffy, expecting her to say it was alright, that all was forgiven. But she could find the words right then. She needed to get back to Giles, make sure he was alright, be with her family. Taking a breath she spun on her heels and marched out of the crypt.

She practically ran back to Giles place, crashing though the door. Giles got up to meet her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry. I didn't mean any of it. I don't love Spike. I can't stand him. I love you. You know I love you, right?"

Giles smiled, walking slowly towards her. "I know. I love you too. - But…."

Buffy frowned, panic in her eyes. "What?"

"Go scrub your mouth." he cringed, his nose wrinkling.

Buffy exhaled slowly, her shoulders slumping with relief. Nodding she ran off to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth five times, rinsed her mouth out seven, then scrubbed again another two before finally returning to the living room to find, Sam in his crib and Giles waiting for her on the couch.

He got to his feet as she entered, meeting her half way. He pulled her into his arms and brought his lips down to hers, holding her tight. Buffy's arms curled around his neck, holding on for dear life as she moved her body against his. It was desperate, the way she clung to him, the way she kissed him. Like she was trying to prove that everything she'd done was meaningless.

Giles pulled away slowly, looking down into her glistening green eyes, his thumb rubbing gently at her cheek. "Where's Willow?"

Buffy swallowed. "I don't know. I left her with Xander and Anya. I couldn't…." she shook her head. "I was angry."

"She didn't know what she was doing."

"She knew exactly what she was doing, she just didn't expect the consequences."

Giles smiled sadly. "She's hurting. She wasn't thinking straight."

"How long are we going to keep making that excuse."

Giles dropped his head to press against hers. "As long as we have to. - She's your best friend Buffy."

Buffy sighed. "I know. - I just can't talk to her tonight. - Tomorrow. I talk to her tomorrow."

Giles nodded gently, taking Buffy's hand before and leading her to the bedroom.

They reached the bottom of the stairs when there was a knock on the door and it opened cautiously, Xander's head popping around. "Huh, guys, sorry to interrupt and all, but….what exactly are you going to do about Spike."

Buffy looked up at Giles before turning back to Xander. "I'll find him tomorrow."

Xander nodded and moved to slipped away.

"Xander!" Giles called.

"Yeah?"

"How's Willow?"

Xander looked between the pair sadly. "Miserable. Guilty."

Buffy sighed, her stomach tying up in knots. She let go of Giles hand and moved to the desk. "Is she back at the dorm."

Xander nodded. Buffy picked up the phone and dialled her dorm. Willow answered after a while.

"_Hello?"_

"I'm sorry." Buffy said, her throat tight with tears.

"_No, I'm sorry. I…."_

"It's fine. Really. I'll see you tomorrow when you come over."

"_Sure. Night Buffy."_

"Night Will."

Buffy hung up her phone, and headed back to the stairs where Giles was still waiting. Taking his hand she shot a smile to Xander. "Night Xan."

"Night Buff."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm slowly getting though this damn story. **


	8. Too Many Words Not Enough Said

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episodes - Hush.**

**A/N: I'm afraid there's going to be a couple of filler chapters. Sorry. **

* * *

**Too Many Words, Not Enough Said**

_ "Buffy." Giles whispered in her ear, pulling her bodies harder beneath him. His hands running down her thighs as they shook against him. _

_Buffy moaned, her head rolling back against the polish wooden desk at the front of the class as she clung to his shoulder. They shouldn't be doing this, she knew. The professor could walk in at any moment. So could the class. But this was just so good. _

_ "Giles….ah….ooh…" Buffy pulled back, her head turning towards a sound in the hall. "Do you hear that?"_

"_Hear what?" Giles panted. _

_She rolled out from beneath her lover, and off the desk, her skirt falling back into place. _

"_Can't even shout, can't even cry. The Gentlemen are coming by. Looking in windows, knocking on doors. They need to take seven and they might take yours." _

_Buffy stared at the young blond girl at the end of the hall. _

"_Can't call to Mom, can't say a word. You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard."_

_Buffy turned at the hand on her shoulder. _

So I'll see you all Monday for a final review session."

Buffy sat up in her seat, disorientated, her dream haunting her thoughts.

"Man, that was an exciting class, huh?" Willow said, pulling her things in her bag.

"Oh, yeah, well…."

"And the last twenty minutes was a revelation. Just laid out everything we need to know for the final. I'd hate to have missed that."

"Just tell me I didn't snore." Buffy smiled.

"Very discreet. Minimal drool."

"Oh, yay."

"So were you dreaming?"

"Yeah. And it was kind of intense."

"Intense? Really? Cos you seemed so peaceful." Riley said, appearing behind them as they left the class.

Willow grinned over her should at him, and Buffy didn't fail to notice it.

"Of course, it was only for a moment."

"Right. You guys headed over towards Judd?" Riley nodded.

"I'm for the Student centre." Buffy replied.

"I've got Wicca group."

"I'll walk you. If you…" Riley babbled. "I mean, I'm heading that way."

"What way?"

Riley looked embarrassed. "Uh, well…."

"I'll see you guys later." Buffy grinned, turning and walking away, leaving the pair to wander in the opposite direction.

She headed back to her dorm to call Giles about her dreams.

"_Can't even shout, can't even cry. The Gentlemen are coming by. It sounds vaguely familiar. You're sure it's nothing you heard when you were a child?"_

"Giles I know the difference between normal dreams and Slayer dreams."

"All right. Nothing else?"

"No."

"Well, it could definitely be one of your prophetic dreams…."

Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Or it could just be the eternal mystery that is your brain."

"Hey, watch what you're saying there, or I'll stay here with Willow and head Ben and Jerry and watch movies."

"I'll check it out and I'll let you know what I find tonight."

Buffy chuckled. "I'll see you later. Kiss Sam for me."

"Always."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Buffy hung up and dropped down on her bed, laying back to stare up at the ceiling. Her mom was due home in two days and she was already dreading it, because she knew what it meant. Sitting down and talking about her and Giles. She could already see the horror and anger could see the yelling and Giles apologizing. Maybe she could put it off a little longer. She shook her head; no she needed to tell her mom if she wanted to move in with Giles permanently.

**~Don't Lie~**

"You heard of a group called the Gentlemen?" Giles asked frowning down at his notes.

"Group of what?" Spike murmured, rummaging around in the kitchen.

"The Gentlemen."

"Don't know em."

"You certain?"

"No. We're out of Weetabix." the vampires complained as he chewed a cracker.

"We are out of Weetabix because you ate it all. - Again." Giles sighed, dropping down in front of his bookshelf.

"Get some more."

"I thought vampires were supposed to eat blood?"

"Yeah, well, sometimes I like to crumble up the Weetabix in the blood. Give it a little texture."

Giles cringed. "Since the picture you just painted means that I will never touch food of any kind again, you'll just have to pick it up yourself." he sighed, getting up and going back to his desk, his gaze quickly checking on Sam who was sat in his playpen by the window.

"Sissy." Spike grumbled, turning his head to look at the little boy. "Hey kid, you hear that, your dad's a sissy."

Sam glared at the vampire and Giles smirked, glad to see his son share his dislike for the vampire.

"Well I think we should talk about it now!" Anya said as she and Xander walking in arguing.

"Thank you for knocking." Giles mumbled, not looking up, well aware none of them had bothered to knock in months."

"If you don't know how I feel about…"

"I don't. This isn't a relationship. You don't need me. All you care about is lots of orgasms."

Giles groaned. Why did they always seem to have these discussions at his place?

"Ok. Remember how we talked about private conversations? How they're less private in front of my friends?"

"Oh, we're not your friends. Go on." Spike announced joyfully from the back of the couch.

"Please don't." Giles insisted.

"This is important." Anya insisted.

"But why is it _here_?" Giles moaned.

"Mom said you wanted me to swing by." Xander replied.

"Oh, yes. Well, I meant after sunset. Um…I need you to take Spike for a few days."

"What?" the three said in unison.

"I'm not staying with him!"

"Buffy's mom's coming home on Saturday and I have something planned for our last night all together and I'd like us to be alone."

"You mean you want to have lots of orgasms with Buffy and don't want Spike listening!" Anya snapped.

"Yes, that's exactly the most appalling thing you could have said." Giles cringed.

"He's not roaming around. If he's stays with me, he'll get tied up."

"What about us? Our romantic evening?"

"I'm not having these two shag while I'm tied to a chair three feet away."

"That's not exactly a fantasy of mine either."

"You're blowing off our evening…."

Giles bent down over his book and tried to block out the arguments, wishing for once they'd just all shut up.

**~Don't Lie~**

"So not stellar, huh?" Buffy smiled supportively as they strolled back into their dorm.

"Talk. All talk." Willow scoffed. "Blah, blah, Gaea. Blah, blah, moon. Menstrual life-force power thingy. You know, after a couple of sessions, I was hoping we would get into something real, but…"

"No actual witches in your witch group?"

"No. Bunch of wanna-blessed-bes. You know, nowadays every girl with a henna tattoo and a spice rack thinks she's a sister to the dark ones."

"Sorry it was a bust." Buffy smiled apologetically, opening the door to their room. "I know you were looking to go further in that department."

"I'd just like to float something bigger than a pencil someday." Willow sighed and dropped down on her bed.

"But…" Buffy grinned mischievously. "…in other news, you and Riley seemed kinda snuggly after class."

Willow smiled softly. "I don't know. It's still hard you know, trying to move on. I mean….it's kinda hard not thinking about Oz."

Buffy's lips turned down as she handed her friend a soda. "You'll get there will. Just no more magical fixes, ok."

"Ok. - But I do like him. We have conversation….actually full sentence conversations. I mean, don't get me wrong I love….loved, Oz and we talked, it was just….well, not so….."

"Wordy?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't know. - There's still the whole…." she waved her hand at Buffy. "I mean; if I start dating Riley who am I meant to, well explain rushing off in the middle of whatever to help you."

"Willow, you can't let _my work _stop you from having a life." Buffy insisted. "Beside, if you guys get serious, then….well, we'll have to tell him."

"Yeah, and watch him run for the hills. Riley doesn't exactly strike me as the believes in the supernatural type. He'll probably think we're insane."

Buffy shrugged. "Just got for it, okay. We'll deal with the big bad secret when it comes to it."

Willow frowned down at her can. "What about you and Giles? You guys okay since I…." she shrugged. "You know."

Buffy huffed a soft laugh. "Strangely, we're better than okay. - Though he won't leave me alone with Spike."

"Sorry again."

Buffy nodded.

"You heading over there tonight?"

"Yeah. Research."

Willow smirked and laughed under her breath. "Is that what the kids are calling it now?"

"I mean it….well, okay, there might me some smoochiness, and stuff, but this dreams really bugging me, I'm sure something's up."

"What me to hit the books….from here of course."

"That would be great." Buffy got to her feet. "Or maybe you could…say….call Riley and go out for coffee."

Willow rolled her eyes. "He's busy tonight. Assignment."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Have a great night with Giles. And kiss Sam a kiss from his Auntie Willow."

"Will do. I'll see you tomorrow."

"No rush." Willow laughed.

**~Don't Lie~**

"They need to take seven." Giles murmured to himself. "Take seven what?"

"Hey." Buffy smiled, strolling into the apartment.

Giles dropped his pen and turned in his seat to look up at her as she approached. "Hello. How was school?"

"Good. I think things are looking up on the Willow, Riley front." she replied, slipping into his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck while lowering her mouth to his for a brief kiss. "How's the research coming? Find anything? - Hey, where's Spike?" she frowned.

"Xander has him." Giles smiled, his eyes never leaving Buffy, his hand rubbing aimlessly at her lower back.

"Really?" she brightened.

Giles smiled widened, his other hand slipping up her thigh. "Really. - And Sam's fast asleep." he murmured against her lips.

"But what about the resea…"

Giles cut her off with a hungry kiss, the hand on her thigh slipping higher. Moaning at the heat he found.

Buffy curved up into his touch, her tongue battling with his, her fingers carding through his hair. All thoughts of her nightmare and research gone. She shifted in his lap; swing her leg over his thighs so she could straddle his lap. Rocking into his erection desperately.

They remained their, grinding and kissing for a few minutes, before Giles slipped his hands beneath her thighs and lifted her as he stood. Buffy wrapped her arms and legs tight around him as he carried her to the stairs.

They woke the next morning curled around each other, Giles chest plastered to Buffy's back, his arms wrapped around her waist and their fingers knotted. It was the silence that woke her. Buffy's eyes flying open as she stared at the clock on the nightstand and frowned. It was almost seven, Sam was usually yelling for his breakfast by now. She turned her head to look at Giles sleeping peacefully, before slipping out from beneath his arm and grabbing the robe she left at his place.

She quietly descended the stairs, not wanting to wake Sam if he was still asleep, only to see him sat in his cot, crying. - But there was no sound, no familiar wail of her son. She rushed over, lifting him out of the cot and opened her mouth to shush him, but found no sound. Without thinking she tried to yell for Giles, before realising that was pointless and taking the stairs with Sam in her arms. She leapt onto the bed, startling Giles awake. He blinked up at her and opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, only to frown when there was nothing but silence.

Giles pushed himself upright in the bed and looked between Buffy and Sam.

_What's happening? _Buffy mouthed. Her eyes filled with panic as she rocked Sam back and forth, trying to calm his silent wailing.

_I don't know. _Giles mouthed back, reaching for his phone to call Willow, before rolling his eyes when Buffy shook her head. He threw the covers back, reaching for his underwear. He opened his mouth to tell Buffy to get dressed and then silently groaned, turning to mouth the words to her.

Buffy settled Sam on the bed and rushed to collect her clothes and put them on. Once they were both dressed the rushed down the stairs and out the front door. Giles knocked to see if his neighbour was suffering from the same thing and found the woman panicked. He nodded his apologizes and left her distressed. Taking Buffy's hand he dragged her up the stairs to his car.

_Where are we going? _She asked silently.

_Willow. _

Buffy nodded as she fastened Sam into his car seat, handing over the bottle of juice she'd grabbed on her way out. Climbing into the passenger seat she look over at Giles who sent her a reassuring smile before starting the engine and pulling away from the curb.

They pulled to a stop outside the building and Buffy threw the door open and rushed inside. Giles waiting, turning in his seat to smile at Sam who sat silently staring at them in confusion. After a few minutes the doors opened and Buffy and Willow climbed in. Willow waving at Giles miserably. He pulled away from the campus and headed back to his place, sure that by now, Xander was probably there.

He was proven right as they strolled through the door to find Xander and Anya sat on his couch watching TV. Giles frowned at the screen were a news anchor was talking. He turned to Buffy. _It must just be Sunnydale. _He mouthed.

Buffy huffed silently and pressed her face into faces baby-fine hair.

"….news item from Sunnydale, California…." they all turned to stare at the TV. "….Apparently the entire town has been quarantined, due to an epidemic of - as strange as this may sound - laryngitis. It seems the town has been rendered unable to speak. There's no word yet what might have caused this or what other effects might be seen. Local authorities have issued a statement - a written statement I should say - blaming recent flu vaccinations. A few sceptics call it a citywide hoax. In the meanwhile, Sunnydale has effectively shut down all schools and businesses will be closed for the time being. And residents are advised to stay home and rest up. The Centers for Disease Control have ordered the town quarantined. No one can get in or out until the syndrome is identified or the symptoms disappear. We'll bring you more on that as it develops."

Buffy frowned at the screen for a few more minutes before turning to Giles desk, Sam still cradled close, as if she was afraid to let him go. She pulled a pad towards her and scribbled down a note, handing it to Giles. **We need to keep researching, but I should be in town tonight. **

Giles nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy had reluctantly handed over care of Sam to Xander and Anya while Giles and Willow hit the books and she headed into town. The streets were already chaos. Cars over turned or crashed into fire hydrants. People walking around like Zombies. Even with everything she'd been through since becoming the slayer, she was freaked out. She couldn't shake the cold chill that held her captive. She'd known something was coming, and she'd allowed herself to be distracted. If they'd researched last night, instead of having sex, they might have been able to stop this before it started, or at least been better prepared for it. Maybe it was why Slayers weren't meant to have relationship? They got in the way.

As she strolled down Main Street she saw two guys fighting, she went to try and stop it but found Riley getting there before her. She smiled at him as the men went there separate ways.

_Hey_. Buffy smiled.

_Hey_. Riley waved. _You okay?_

Buffy nodded. _You_?

Riley gave her a small shrug. _Where's Willow? Is she alright?_

Buffy smiled. _Fine. She's with my boyfriend._

Riley sighed with relief. _I need to go_.

Buffy nodded.

_Tell Willow…_

Buffy smiled. _I will. _

With one last concerned look, Riley rushed off toward the sound of crashing and Buffy turned in the other direction.

She got back to Giles's at around 2AM, walking wirily though the door to find him resting his head against the desk, his glasses askew. Sam was sleeping in his cot. There was no sign of the others so they must have all headed home. Shrugging out of her jacket, she headed for the kitchen to make coffee, before strolling over to check on Sam. Running her hands through his hair. When she turned around Giles was sitting upright, watching her. He jotted something down and held it up.

**You alright?**

She nodded sadly, moving back to him. Taking his pen she wrote on the pad. **You?**

Giles smiled.

**Find anything? **She added.

Giles shrugged, taking the pen. **Not sure. Still looking**.

_Coffee?_

_Yes please. _

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles rubbed at his tired eyes, stretching his back. He'd been reading all night and still wasn't sure what he was even looking for. There was something, in the back of his head but he couldn't get at it. He glanced over at Buffy who was sat on the coach with Sam on her lap, feeding him. It was a horrid feeling seeing his son so silent. It was like a physical pain. He needed to find out what was going on. Taking a breath he strolled over to the front door to retrieve the morning paper and frowned down at the headline.

**Brutal Slaying Shocks Silent Community.**

He rushed over to Buffy, handing her the paper. _You need to go investigate. _He mouthed.

Buffy looked reluctantly at Sam before getting to her feet and handing him over. Pressing a kiss - one of many she'd been giving him lately. - to his forehead. _I'll be back as soon as I can. _

Giles nodded, kissing her on the lips and watching her leave, before staring down at the paper again, his gaze falling on another article.

**15-Year-Old Girl Found Stabbed, Heart Was Missing. **He frowned, biting his lips as something began to click into place in his head. He turned to look at the small end table and the book he'd been reading to Sam. **Fairy Tales**. _Of course_. He said to himself.

**~Don't Lie~**

He drove past Xander's, to grab him and Anya before heading to the college. He found Willow and Buffy walking out of one of the building and screeched to a halt, jumping out he rushed over, holding up his already writing message**. I've found something. **

_What? _Buffy mouthed.

Is there somewhere we can go?

Buffy nodded and headed back to the car to retrieve Sam from the back seat before leading them towards on of the classrooms.

The took their seats as Giles set up the projector he'd found. He hit play on the cassette player, and Danse Macabre filled the room. Buffy frowned at him for a second and he shrugged. He was just sick of all the silence. He turned around and placed the first film-sheet on the projector, back to front. The group waved the hand, causing Giles to look up and see his mistake, he quickly flipped it over.

**WHO ARE THE GENTLEMEN?**

**THEY ARE FAIRY TALE MONSTERS. **

**WHAT DO THEY WANT?**

Willow held up her hand, pointing to her chest.

Xander frowned. _Boobies?_

Willow rolled her eyes and pointed to the screen as Giles place the next slide down.

**HEARTS**

**THEY COME TO A TOWN**

**THEY STEAL ALL THE VOICES SO NO ONE CAN SCREAM. **

**THEN**

Buffy's hand flew over Sam's eyes as Giles revealed the picture of a monster ripping out some poor individuals heart, with lots of blood and a really freak grin. She glared at him.

_What?_

She pointed at the image and he gaped, shrugged an apologize and then taking it down so Buffy could remove her hand from Sam's eyes.

**THEY NEED SEVEN. THEY HAVE AT LEAST TWO.**

Xander clicked his finger and held up the small whiteboard he'd brought with him. **How do we kill them?**

Buffy made a slightly obscene hand gesture that had them all looking confused and a little disturbed. When she realised what she was doing she reached into her back for the stake, repeating the motion.

**IN THE TALES NO SWORD CAN KILL THEM. **

**BUT THE PRINCESS SCREAMED ONCE….AND THEY ALL DIED.**

Willow waved her arms, pulling a CD out of her bag.

**ONLY A REAL HUMAN VOICE. **

Buffy jotted down a message awkwardly on a board and held it up to Giles. **How do I get my voice back?**

Giles shrugged.

**BUFFY WILL PATROL TONIGHT.**

Buffy sent him a narrow eyed glare at the drawing he'd made of her. Giles ignored it, point to her to get going, before gesturing to Xander, Willow and Anya to start researching.

Buffy slipped out of her head and walked over to Giles, holding out Sam to him. Her brows knitted in worry. Giles cupped her cheek softly and smile.

_It'll be fine. We'll figure it out. _

Buffy sighed.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy had been patrolling for almost three hours before she finally caught something, or more precisely something caught her. A weird creature in a straight jacket. It put up a good fight and slipped away, but Buffy was on its tail, racing after it towards an old clock tower. She crashed through on of the boarded up window to find a dozen more, but no signed of The Gentlemen.

She spun around with her crossbow raised and froze when she came face to face with Riley, dressing in a commando uniform, a weapon raised at her. Her eyes went wide with shock, and her jaw clenched with anger. Riley? Riley was a commando?

She caught sight of one of the creatures moving just behind him and swung her leg, Riley ducking out of her way. Firing a large taser at another creature behind Buffy. They worked together to fight the things. One of them tried to escape, running upstairs. Checking that Riley was alright, she turned and chased after it. The upper level was dark, and covered in cobwebs. On the far side of the room she could see jar of hearts. Before she was swamped by three of them. Finally catching sight of the Gentlemen, with the creepy deathly white face, dark sunken eye sockets, and black undertaker suits. They seemed to be floating on air, as they came towards her.

Just as one was about to cut at her with a scalpel, a bright blue light hit him, Buffy turned to see Riley firing his taser again. She took her advantage and kicked one straight-jacket-things, knocking it backwards before attacking the two holding her in place.

She fought her way around the space, kicking and punching. One of The Gentlemen snuck up behind her thought, stabbing her in the back. She caught Riley's horrified look but didn't let it distract her. She kept fighting. Then she saw it. The box from her dream and she knew just what had to be done. She waved her arms at Riley who frowned for a second before rushing to the table as she mimed for him to break the box. Only for him to break a small purple vile instead, smiling at her triumphantly. She rolled her eyes and mimed box. Nodding he raised his weapon and smashed the little box.

**~Don't Lie~**

Xander was stood glaring furiously at Spike, glaring at the blood around his mouth, the vampires hands raised innocently. Spike opened his mouth to defend himself only to close it again knowing there was no point. The pair stood silently staring furiously at one another.

And then the silence was broken by Sam's sudden cry. Everyone turned to the playpen where he sat wailing.

"I can talk." Xander said with a grin. "I can talk. Can you talk? I can talk?"

"Great." Spike groaned. "Not shut up."

Xander narrowed his gaze at the vampire.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy ran into Giles apartment. "Giles?"

"Buffy?" Giles smiled from the couch where he was reading to Sam.

She pressed a kiss to his lips, lowering herself down next to him. "What are you doing?"

"Reading." He smiled.

"What?"

Giles held out the fairy tale book and laughed when Buffy wrinkled her nose, snatching it out of his hand. "I think we've had enough of those for a lifetime. Hey, Sammy?" she smiled at the little boy who grinned back. "Read him Shakespeare."

"Shakespeare?"

"What better way to put him to sleep." she replied, dropping her head on his shoulder.

"I think you're the one that needs to sleep."

Buffy's eyes fluttered closed with a settled hum.

* * *

**A/N: I don't think I will never not laugh my head off at Giles's drawings and Buffy's stake mime. Hope you liked the chapter.**


	9. Falling Back, Stepping Forward

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Season four episodes - Doomed.**

**A/N: This is pretty much a filler chapter. **

* * *

**Fallin Back, Before Stepping Forward.**

Buffy stood in her dorm room packing her stuff. Willow had told her that she'd found a new roommate when she was ready to move out. A girl named Tara, who as it turned out wasn't just pretending to be a witch, she actually had power, which meant that now Buffy could stare moving into Giles place. Her mom wasn't due back for another few day, as the local officials insisted that the quarantined be kept in place until they were sure that whatever had caused the citywide laryngitis was actually gone. Which at least gave her and Giles time to figure out what to tell her. Christmas was less than a week away and she wasn't sure how things were going to be once everything was out in the open.

A knock on the door pulled her from her boxes. "Come in!" she turned to see Riley and her stomach knotted. It had been two days since she'd discovered his secret identity and he'd discovered hers. - Well, he'd found out she liked to hunt monsters at least.

"Well…." he murmured nervously from the door. "I guess we have to talk."

"I guess we do."

Riley lowered himself down on Willow's bed, Buffy sitting across from him. They sat in an awkward uncomfortable silence.

"Somebody should speak before one of us graduates." Buffy murmured, looking up at him.

Riley pushed himself off the bed and paced the room, huffing frustratingly. "What are you?"

"Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius. You?"

"Sorry. That came out a little blunter than I intended. - It's just…you're amazing. Your speed, your strength." he sighed, dropping back down onto the bed.

"Also passionate, artistic and inquisitive. - Who are you?"

"You know who I am." Riley sighed. "The rest….what I do…I can't tell you."

"Well, then, let me. You're part of some military monster squad that captures demons, vampires, probably got some official-sounding euphemisms for them, like unfriendlies or non-sapient"

"Hostile subterrestials." Riley clarified.

"So, you deliver these HSTs to a bunch of lab coats. Who perform experiments on them, which among other things; turn some into harmless little bunnies. How am I doin' so far?"

"A little too well." Riley frowned.

"Meanwhile, by day, you pretend to be Riley Finn, cornfed Iowa boy. Every been to Iowa, Riley? God, if that's even your name."

"It is. Born and raised." Riley insisted. "And hey, bulletin: I'm not the only one who's been a little less than honest here."

"I thought a professional demon-chaser like yourself would have figured it out by now. I'm the Slayer."

Riley's stared at her blankly.

"Slayer. Chosen One." Buffy frowned, waiting for him to catch on. "She who hangs out a lot in cemeteries?" still nothing. "You're kidding. Ask around. Look it up. Slayer, comma, the."

"And you fight demons? I mean, you whaled on those guys."

"You did pretty well yourself."

"Yeah, but I'm a walking bruise today. - I don't see a scratch on you."

"It comes with the gig." Buffy shrugged.

"So then…." Riley sighed, glancing aimlessly around the room. "Wait….Willow, does Willow know?" he frowned.

Buffy shrugged with a small smile. "She's my best friend."

Riley dropped down on the bed in shock.

"If its any consolation its why she hasn't….you know, agreed to go out with you. She didn't want to scare you off with all this. - I guess I can tell her not to worry."

"No!" Riley snapped, leaping to his feet. "She can't know. No one can know."

"So you expect me to lie to her for you?" Buffy glared.

"She's been lying to me. - Just….I've got to go."

"Hey…."

"See ya."

He made it to the door when the earthquake hit, shaking the whole building. His protective instincts took hold driving him forward to drag Buffy into the doorframe of her closet.

"Wow. That was some ride!" Riley chuckled as if finally stopped. "Sorry I'm so excited. It's my first earthquake."

Buffy stared blankly, her heart pounding in her chest. "It's not mine." she murmured. "I gotta go." she grabbed her jacket and ran out of the room.

**~Don't Lie~**

She raced down the stairs of the apartment complex and skidded to a halt at the sight of Giles and Sam. She dropped to her knees to check on her son, who was sat on a rug playing happily.

"You alright?" Giles frowned, not lifting his gaze from the large map on the patio table.

Buffy's head snapped around to glare at him. "Something horrible gonna happen."

"It was an earthquake, Buffy. A not uncommon occurrence in southern California. No reason to think it was anything more."

"Oh I so have a reason. A darn good reason. The last time we had an earthquake, I died!" she snapped, panicked.

"Yes, I know that…." he murmured, inhaling sharply at the memory. "…and therefore I completely understand your anxiety.

"Oh, good. Cos I'd hate for my little untimely horrible death concern to be ambiguous." she dropped down on the small walk in front of the table.

Giles slid of his seat and knelt in front of her. "But unless evidence suggests otherwise, we can assume that it's shifting landmasses and not a portent of some imminent doom." he said softly.

Buffy looked at him disbelievingly.

"What if the quake was a sigh? - A bad omen. - and we ignore it?"

Giles rolled his eyes. "Buffy."

"There's going to be a lot of red faces when the world comes ends." she insisted.

"Buffy, if the quake heralded some such catastrophe, I'm sure there will be other signs to follow which will afford us plenty of time to avert it."

"Now, in the meantime, I've got a few theories about our mysterious commando friends."

"Oh." Buffy's heart dropped to her stomach. She should tell him, she knew she should, but she just….Riley had asked her not to, and he was kind of her friend. - But Giles was her boyfriend. "Really?"

"Yes. Now, based on the locations of our various sightings ad uh…Spike's reluctant description of their underground installation…"

"I've got to go. I've got to check on Willow."

Giles frowned up at her. "I'm sure she's alright."

"And I've got to finish packing." she smiled. "And you've got research to do."

Giles's browns knitted tighter. "Research?"

"On the quake."

Giles huffed. "Fine. I'm research the quake, but I'm telling you it's nothing."

Buffy nodded and pressed a kiss to Sam before taking the stairs to at a time. She wasn't avoiding telling Giles about Riley, she just figured Willow had the rights to know first.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy got back to the dorm to find the room empty, a note from Willow saying she'd got to the after quake party at Porter Hall. Buffy sighed and dropped down on the bed, rubbing at her eyes. She had to finish packing; no doubt Tara would want to be moving in soon. Her main worry at the moment though was….well, she had too really. First: Willow and Riley. She didn't care what Riley said, she was going to tell her friend. Will had to know. Second: Was the feeling she couldn't shake that something bad was coming. She didn't understand why Giles wasn't taking her worries seriously. Sure it had only been a few days since their last brush with the dark side, but evil didn't really care about stuff like that, right? Wasn't that what Giles always used to tell her in high school? She just hoped he was right and there was time to stop whatever it was.

She was just letting her eyes flutter closed when the phone rang, she reached out blindly. "Hello?"

"_Buffy? Buffy, I need you to come get me?"_

Buffy hung up and was out of the room before she took another breath.

She rushed into Porter Hall to find cops everywhere. Willow was sat on the stairs waiting for her.

"Wow. I wasn't sure where the party was, then I saw the lights and the ambulance and I was like, Right, of course. Death, carnage. It's a Buffy party."

"I'm so glad you're here."

"What happened?"

"I found him, this guy, on the bed with me. Dead. Not me dead, he dead."

"God. Are you okay? - Vampire?"

Willow shook her head. "There was so much blood, and there was a symbol. - And Percy said I was a nerd."

"Percy called you a nerd?" Buffy snapped horrified.

"I guess we should report to Giles, get with the demon-tracking."

Buffy nodded, helping Willow to her feet. "Does Percy even go here?" she asked as they left the building.

**~Don't Lie~**

"It just made me feel like I was right back in High School." Willow sighed, slouching in Giles desk chair.

"Dumb jock." Xander spat. "If it wasn't for you, he still would be."

"Yeah….I mean, I know the Percy thing isn't really important. It's the dead guy on the bed."

"Yeah, that's bad, too." Xander nodded.

"Ooh, and something else. He - the dead guy - was propped up, like whatever killed him wanted to drain the blood out of him. So I'm thinking the 'whatever' took a bunch of the guy's blood with him. - And I haven't been a nerd for a very long time. Hello! Dating a guitarist! Or I was."

"Tell them about the symbol." Buffy insisted.

"Right." Willow nodded, reaching into her pocket for a piece of paper. "It was carved into his chest, like a big creepy eye." she handed it to Giles.

"It's kind of the CBS logo. Hey, could this be the handiwork of one Mr Morley Safer?"

"I'm telling you, I've seen this somewhere before. I just can't remember where," Buffy sighed. "I mean, it's like…"

"It's the end of the world." Giles suddenly announced.

Buffy's head snapped around to stare at him.

"Again?" Xander and Giles snapped shouted in unison.

"It's um….the earthquake. That symbol is…um…"

"I told you! I said 'end of the world' and you're like 'pooh, pooh, southern California pooh, pooh.'"

"I'm so very sorry. My contrition completely dwarfs the impending apocalypse." Giles huffed.

"No, it can't be. We've done this already." Willow whined.

"It's the end of the world. Everyone died. It's rather important, really."

Buffy glanced over at Sam, her stomach tightening painfully.

"So what do we do?" Willow sighed.

Buffy straightened her back. "I stop it!"

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

Buffy glared at her lover. "You're the book guy, you tell me."

Giles removed his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. His gaze settling on Sam. "Alright. We'll hit the books."

"Good. And I'm going to hit the streets, see if I can find the demon."

**~Don't Lie~**

It didn't take Buffy long to find the crypt with the symbol, once she'd hit the cemetery it had come back to her. Inside she'd found the demon, putting bones in a sack. She'd tied to capture it, but the thing had put up a good fight and gotten away. And then of course, Riley hat to show up.

"Wow, that flippy thing that you did was…."

"Where did it go?"

"It's gone." Riley smiled. "I saw it take off towards the woods."

Buffy clenched her jaw. "And you didn't follow it?"

Riley frowned at her like she was crazy. "No weapons, no backup. You don't go after a demon that size by yourself."

"I do." she turned to leave.

Riley grabbed her arm. "Yeah, well, I'm no slayer." he laughed, pulling a radio out of his back pocket. "Base One, this is Lilac One."

"Lilac?" Buffy smirked.

"_Go."_

"Confirmed sighting of an unidentified Sub-T. Mobilise patrol team for debriefing at 0800 hours."

"_Copy that."_

"Very commandery." Buffy sighed, leaning back against a headstone. "Lilac notwithstanding. - What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. She who hangs out in cemeteries."

"Well, I have to…get the demon."

"Don't sweat it. We'll bag it." Riley said confidently.

"It's not that simple."

"Yeah, but…Look I really think…."

"Riley, I've got to find that thing, now. I don't have time to stand her and explain everything to you. - You want answers….ask tomorrow. If there's a tomorrow." with that she turned.

**~Don't Lie~**

By the time she'd gotten back empty handed the living was a wash with old books.

"Find anything?"

"Just the demon."

"Really?"

"It got away. - What about you guys?"

"No luck." Willow sighed.

"Well the demon, it was big, really big, green, scaly, with these spiky things like hair. It was stealing these bones. - A child's bones." Buffy sighed, dropping down on the chair in the corner. "Where's Sam?"

"Sleeping in the other room."

Buffy nodded, pushing herself out of the seat and heading toward the small room in the back they'd started to turn into Sam's future nursery. It had been a used to store all of Giles books until now. She settled down in the corner of the room, on the floor and just stared at the sleeping little boy.

"We're going to stop it." Giles said quietly.

Buffy didn't take her eyes from Sam. "I know. - It's just…." she sighted. "…it never seems to stop. Every time it looks like we're going to get a break, the world threatens to end."

Giles lowered himself down next to her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. "I'm afraid that's what it means to be a slayer." he whispered against her hair. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't stop living."

"I don't want to stop living Giles, I want to stop fighting."

Giles frowned down at her. "What?"

"I mean, I want to be normal. I want to not have to worry that the worlds going to end, or that some demon is going to kill one of my friends. - That Sam's not going to grow up with all this."

"Buffy." Giles sighed pulling her tighter to him.

"Uh, guys." Xander coughed from the doorway. "Will thinks she's found something."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy and the others had left a while ago in search other the Word of Valios, only it wouldn't be at the magic shop or the museum, because as usually the most dangerous object in existence was right under there noses. Giles couldn't believe he'd had it all the time.

He was rummaging thought the box of odds and ends when his door crashed open, and the demons grabbed him. He fought back. He couldn't let them get the talisman, but the first thing in his mind was Sam.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy got back to the apartment to find it a mess and Giles sat on the couch. "What happened?" she rushed to his side.

"It's my fault. I should have know." Giles groaned painfully.

"Giles." she took the seat opposite him, her hands resting on his knee.

"The Word of Valios is the name of a talisman, not a book. I blame myself entirely. I had it here."

"You had it here?" Xander frowned. "At first I thought you were being too hard on yourself, but…"

Willow back out of the kitchen and handed Buffy the iced towel, which she held gently to Giles bleeding head.

"I bought it at a sorcerer's estate sale." he murmured. "I really only glanced at it once. I thought it was a knockoff."

"Well they have it. They probably have their sacrifices by now, too." Buffy said a little frustratingly.

"They're on their way to perform the sacrifice now."

"On their way where? You found out what the ritual is for?"

Giles looked up and met Buffy's eyes guiltily. "The Hellmouth. They're going to open the Hellmouth. - The one in the library."

Buffy shared looks with her friend and sighed. "Well, it looks like we're going back to High School"

"Be careful." Giles insisted with a low groan.

"Just rest."

The gang headed for the door.

"Buffy." Giles called after her.

She walked back. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

She smiled warmly at him, leaning down to kiss him. "You're an idiot. - Lucky I love you. - We'll be back soon. Rest." she squeezed his shoulder and walked out the apartment.

**~Don't Lie~**

The school had been as creepy as every but at least they'd been able to make their way through the halls and find the library. Buffy just wished she'd known more about the ritual before they'd gotten there, if they'd know the demons were the sacrifice they could have stopped the first one from jumping into the pit. Though knowing had stopped Spike from throwing the second one in. But then the vampire wasn't exactly a genius. At least someone who was an actual help arrived.

"Well, hey! Willow. Xander, right? Jeez, what are the chances, huh?"

Buffy looked from Willow to Riley, biting her lip.

"Yeah, I was just passing by and I thought I heard people inside." Riley said, looking anywhere but at Willow, who was staring at him with a grin.

"You were just passing by in your GI Joe outfit?" Willow smirked.

Riley looked down at his clothes and frowned. "Uh…" he met her gaze.

"No offence, but you do look wicked conspicuous." Buffy chuckled.

"I do?" Riley frowned. "Paintball. Yeah, I was playing paintball and then the aftershock…."

"So, you're on of the commando guys, huh?" Xander smiled.

"Oh, no, no, no. Commando? No, I mean…don't I know you?" Riley asked, looking over Xander's shoulder to Spike.

"Me? No." Spike shook his head. "No, sir. I'm just an old pal of Xander's here." he replied with a terribly fake American accent.

"Oh. That's nice."

Willow glanced over at Buffy who grinned and nodded before leaving. "So….commando?" she said, looking up into his eyes. "So I guess, I don't have to freak you out with the whole, my best friend and I hunt monsters."

"You hunt monsters?" Riley said trying to sound surprise.

"I have to say, for a terrible liar, I really didn't have a clue."

Riley bit his lip and sighed. "You weren't meant to, it's part of the whole, confidential government thing."

"Right. Well…now I know you're all secret agent guy and I'm demon fighting witch girl, fancy grabbing coffee?" she asked with a raised brow.

A smile burst across Riley's face. "That…sounds good. - Dammit."

"What?" Willow frowned.

"I….debriefing. - Could you give me an hour. Say."

"I can do that." Willow nodded.

**~Don't Lie~**

"How you feeling?" Buffy whispered, kneeling down beside the couch.

Giles cracked open an eye with a groan. "Awful. Why am I always the one that gets knocked out or beaten up?"

"Because you're an idiot. I told you."

Giles glared at her and she kissed him. "So see as you're here, I'll take it everything worked out."

"It was a little touch and go there for a while, but….yeah, we saved the world again."

"Good to know." Giles nodded, his eyes drifting closed.

"You know this battle scared warrior's really working for you?" Buffy whispered seductively against his ear.

"You're a wicked, evil girl." he groaned.

"Which is precisely why you love me." she grinned, sucking kisses into his neck.

"Buffy, I'm not a slayer, I don't heal that fast. - I have…."

"I'll be gentle. Promise." she whispered seductively, moving down his body. "You won't have to lift a finger."

Giles looked down at her with heavy lids. "Wicked, evil girl." he repeated huskily.

The know on the door shattered the mood and they both turned with deep frowns.

"You expecting someone?"

"Only you." Giles shook his head.

Buffy pushed herself to her feet and strolled to the door, pulling it open. "Mom?"


	10. Tis The Season

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Between episodes Doomed and New Man.**

**A/N: This is pretty much a filler chapter. **

* * *

**Tis The Season**

"Mom, you….back?"

Joyce smiled at her daughter before pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're alright. I heard all about that laryngitis thing, I was so worried."

"Its fine, Mom. - I didn't think you'd be back for another few days."

"I couldn't stay away any longer. It's already been a month. You're aunt says hello by the way." Joyce smiled. "I went home and when you weren't there I just assumed this is where you'd be. I see you've been….busy." she said, glancing back at Giles over Buffy's shoulder.

"Yeah, we had a thing. But it's all fine now."

"Well, I can give you a ride home then."

"Ha…well, Sam's sleeping right now, I'd rather not….disturb him."

Joyce frowned looking between her daughter and Giles. "I don't think Mr. Giles is in any condition to be looking after a baby, Buffy. He looked likes he's been through a war."

"Well…that's alright, cause I was gonna stay here."

Joyce frowned, staring down at her.

"On the couch." Buffy clarified. "But….yeah, I guess Giles has been through a lot, he doesn't need me and Sam around." she said guilty. She knew she should just say it. _Mom, me and Giles are together. Have been since High School._ But she could just imagine the whirlwind that would come after, and Giles had already been though enough for one night. Taking a deep breath she turned an apologetic smile on Giles who nodding understandingly. "I'll just go and get him." she sighed, heading into the back room.

Giles stood nervously. "So….how have you been, Joyce?" he asked trying to break the tension between them. Things had never been the same between him and Joyce since Buffy had run away, he knew she'd blamed him. - And from the look on her face, she still did.

"Fine, thank you, Mr Giles. - Yourself?"

"Fine."

Buffy returned quickly with Sam bundled up in blankets. She paused a moment beside Giles, and they both desperately wanted to share a kiss goodbye. Something that had become so natural to them now. Giles ran a gentle hand over Sam head and murmured a goodbye, swallowing the quickly rising lump in his throat.

"I'll call you okay." Buffy nodded. "Night." she smiled regretfully.

"Of course. Goodnight Buffy. Goodnight Joyce." he said, closing the door behind them.

The drive back home was silent and uncomfortable, all Buffy wanted to do was tell her mom to turn the car around and take her back to Giles, because she was in love with him and they were moving in together. But she didn't have the courage, which she understood was ironic considering what she faced on an almost weekly basis. But she didn't want to see the disappointment and anger in her mom's eyes. She didn't want her to hate Giles. So it was easier to say nothing, despite what she'd told Giles and Willow, she wasn't so sure she could ever tell her mom. But she had to. - She knew she had to.

"So, have you got all of your Christmas shopping done yet, cause I was thinking that maybe we could hit the mall tomorrow."

"Oh….yeah, that sounds good." Buffy nodded with a forced smile.

"And I was thinking that if Xander and Willow aren't spending Christmas with their families, that maybe they'd like to come over for dinner."

"Yeah, I'll ask. - Though Xander will probably want to bring Anya."

"That's fine." Joyce nodded, turning onto their street.

"And maybe….I could ask Giles?"

Joyce stiffened slightly. "Of course." she forced a smile.

"Mom?"

"Yes."

"You like Giles right?"

"What?" Joyce frowned.

"I mean, you don't hate him. Cause you've been kinda weird around him since last year and well…..he's part of my life and I don't want you to hate him."

Joyce looked over at Buffy before pulling to a stop outside the house. "I don't hate Mr. Giles. - I just…." she shrugged. "I don't hate him." with that she pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened the door.

Buffy watched her with confusion. "This is not going to be easy Sammy. Not easy at all."

She carried Sam into the house and took him straight up to her room, tucking him into the crib she'd been using for him since he was born. He hadn't slept in it for a while now, not sine her mom had been away. Once he was settled she sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone to call Giles.

_ "Hello."_

"It's me."

"_Are you alright?"_

"No. I…." she looked at the door. "I'd rather be there."

Giles groaned down the line. _"I'd rather you were here too."_

"I don't know if I can do this Giles. - Tell her I mean. She's so….weird about you. I know she's going to freak. And she gonna to hate you. I don't want her to hate you Giles. I don't want you two fighting because of me."

"_Buffy, calm down. There's no rush. We'll do this when your ready. When you think it's the right time."_

"And if I never think it's the right time?"

Giles didn't answer.

"We can't keep it a secret forever Giles. She needs to know if we're going to be together as a family."

"_I know. And we'll tell her."_

Buffy sighed miserably. "Giles?"

"_Yes."_

"Can….can we at least wait till after Christmas. Cause she's invited you and the guys over for dinner, and if we tell her before….it's going to ruin it and it's Sam's first Christmas, I don't want…."

"_Buffy, it's fine. We'll tell her after Christmas."_

Buffy exhaled slowly. "Thanks."

"_Get some rest; you've had a hectic couple of days."_

"You two. - I'll pop by when I can. - Mom wants to go Christmas shopping tomorrow, but after that."

"_It's fine. I'd completely forgotten. I guess I should do some myself before there's nothing left on the shelved. What do you want?"_

"You." she said honestly.

Giles chuckled down the line. _"I think I can arrange that. - Go to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Night Giles."

"_Night."_

"Giles."

"_Yes."_

"I love you."

"_I love you too. - And Sam." _

There was a long pause before Buffy finally hung up, her chest aching. She looked over at Sam. "After Christmas, Sam. We'll all be together after Christmas."

**~Don't Lie~**

It was the coldest feeling waking up in her own bed, alone. She'd become so used to having the warm weight of Giles at her back. To rolling over in his embraces and kissing him good morning. Groaning softly to herself she turned over and stared at the empty space beside her. _After Christmas_. She told herself. After Christmas.

A sound from the other side of the room had her turning back over to smile as Sam, as he sat behind the bars watching her. "Morning honey." she said softly, pushing herself up in bed. "Hungry?"

He smiled at her, holding his arms up. Buffy lifted him out of the crib and carried him down to the kitchen where her mom was already pottering about.

"Morning mom."

"Morning sweetheart." Joyce smiled. "Coffee?"

"Thanks." she place Sam in his high chair and went over to the cupboard to start his breakfast but her mom seemed to have already done it. "Thanks." Buffy smiled as her mom handed over the small bowl.

"So, who's gifts do you need to get?" Joyce asked, leaning back against the counter with her mug between her hands.

"Oh, everyone's." Buffy replied, taking a seat opposite Sam. "I've kinda been a little busy over the last few weeks."

Joyce nodded understandingly. "Well, as soon as you and Sam are ready we can head out."

Buffy nodded.

"So, have you met anyone yet?"

Buffy's head snapped around. "Huh?"

"At college? A Guy? I know I should probably be telling you to concentrate on your studies but I'm not an idiot. So?"

"No. No one. I'm not looking."

Joyce frowned at her, taking a few steps to lean over the kitchen island to watch her daughter. "No one?"

"No. I don't…." she shook her head, fighting the words _I'm already seeing someone. _

"Well I'm surprised. - This isn't about Angel is it? You know you can't keep…."

"It's not about Angel, Mom. Me and Angel were over a long time ago."

Joyce nodded. "Good. I'm glad. Dating is part of the college life Buffy."

"I know, but I'm just….I not interested in dating anyone from college."

"Buffy…."

"Look Mom, my life isn't really conducive to dating. I tried it in high school and it didn't work out. Normal guy just don't get it, my work, my life. - And now I have Sam and no guy wants to date a girl with a kid."

"Buffy that's not…."

"True? Really. You said it yourself mom, college is about having fun. Who would want to date a girl who hangs out in cemeteries and talk none stop about her eleven month old son?"

Joyce sighed sadly, that look on her face so familiar to Buffy. It was the look that said 'this is why I didn't want you to have Sam.' and it made Buffy's gut tighten. She turned her attention to her son and finished giving him his breakfast. Thankful her mom hadn't pressed the subject any further.

She knew her mom didn't understand why her life had to be all secret agent-y but she's come to except it over the past couple of years thank heaven. They feel into casual conversation as far away from that of Buffy's supposed none existent love life. Her mom telling her all about her trip and how her aunt had gotten ill. While Buffy filled her in on the excitement of the past few weeks.

**~Don't Lie~**

"We've got to tell her." Buffy announced marching into Giles place that afternoon.

Giles shot up from his reclining position on the couch, glancing over at his girlfriend as she rolled the stroller through the door. "Pardon?" he frowned with confusion.

"Mom. We've got to tell her." she hit the break on the stroller and bent down to gently pull the little boy free, before heading for the couch. "I know I said I wanted to wait until after Christmas, but…." she let out a wary sigh. "…she spent hours quizzing me over my love life this morning, then spent the day trying to set me up with practically every guy at the mall."

Giles raised a brow. "Why didn't you just tell her you were seeing someone?"

"Because she'd want to meet him and there'd be questions, like is he alright with me being a single mom and does he know about the slayer thing and god…." she huffed, slouching back in the seat. "I don't know what's worse, knowing how she's going to react when we tell her or how she's acting now." Buffy shook her head.

Giles tugged her close into his side. "It's just a couple of more weeks. You don't want to ruin Christmas right?"

"I know. But I….I just want everything out in the open, even if it does ruin my relationship with my mom. I just can't keep lying about it." she sighed.

"Soon." he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple. "It'll all be over soon."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy's arm shot out in her sleep, her instincts still completely in tune with her surroundings in while unconscious. Her eyes flying open as warm rough fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"Buffy. It's me." Giles hissed in the dark.

"Giles?" she whispered back, opening her eyes. Glancing over at her clock. "It's 5AM."

"It's Christmas morning." he smiled.

"What are you four?" she smirked, pulling her wrist free of her boyfriends hold and shifting to sit up in the bed.

"I wanted to see you and Sam."

"You're going to be here in like six hours." Buffy frowned.

"I know. But then your mum's going to be there and I won't be able to do this." he whispered, leaning forward to press his mouth to hers. "Merry Christmas."

Buffy smiled up at him, bring her arms up to wrap around his neck and pull him back down. "Merry Christmas you."

Giles pressed her back into the mattress, his body slotting in beside her as they kissed, his hands roaming her body. The sound of movement in the hall brought an end to their make-out session far sooner than either of them would have liked. Buffy pressed her hand to Giles mouth as they listened to her mom move about outside. They realised their breath at the sound of Joyce's bedroom door closing.

"She'll be up properly in an hour." Buffy whispered.

Giles didn't reply, his simply lay beside her, his fingers combing through her hair and sweeping over her face and neck.

"Next year you won't have to sneak into my room." she said confidently.

Giles smiled regretfully. "I wish I didn't have to do it now."

"I know." Buffy brushed her lips against his jaw, before settling more fully into his embrace.

The pair lay in the early dawn light, Buffy wrapped in her lovers arms. Both their gazes on the sleeping child a few feet away, until they found sleep pulling them into a calm, warm and content abyss.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Buffy!"

The slayer shot up in bed, her vision still clouded with sleep. She blinked a couple of times to focus on the figure in the doorway. Her mom. When the bed moved beside her she remembered instantly that she hadn't been alone. Her mouth opened to speak only for her mom to interrupt her with a furious yell.

"What the hell is going on?"

The raised voice instantly woke Sam, who began to cry. Buffy scrambled out of the bed to get to Sam, not looking over her shoulder at Giles. "I can explain Mom. I…we…" cradling Sam to her chest she finally turned to send her lover a look, taking a breath at the reassurance in his gaze.

"Explain?" Joyce growled.

"Joyce…." Giles said softly.

"Don't!" she warned, aiming an angry finger in his direction.

"Mom. Please, just…."

"Get out."

"Mom."

"I said, get out!"

Giles looked from Joyce to Buffy before straightening his back and moving from his place by the window. Buffy watching him until he came to a halt beside her, his arm slipping over her shoulder. "I'm not leaving without Buffy and our son." he said firmly.

Buffy flinched at his blatant announcement. She'd hoped to ease her mom into the whole thing. To tell her about her relationship with Giles before bring up Sam's part in the thing. Now it was too late.

"What?" Joyce snapped furiously, glancing from Buffy to Giles to Sam. "You his…?" she shook her head. "You bastard! Get out! Get out now before I call the police!"

"Mom, please. Just listen."

"Out!" Joyce yelled.

"No!" Buffy yelled back. "And please stop shouting, your scaring Sam."

"I want that man out of my house now." Joyce said in a much calmer tone.

Buffy took a breath. Turning she handed Sam over to Giles. "Can you take him down, get his breakfast."

"Buffy I…." Joyce started only to be cut off.

"I know." Buffy nodded for Giles to go.

The ex-watcher looked reluctantly between the slayer and her mom before nodding and slipping silently past a furious Joyce.

Buffy waited a few moments before speaking. "I know your angry."

"Angry? Doesn't even cover it."

Buffy sighed, sinking down on the edge of the bed. She sat silently for a moment, just staring at her feet till she heard her mom coming closer and the bed shift next to her.

"How long?" Joyce asked with a tight voice.

Buffy looked at her mom with a confused frown.

Joyce took a calming breath. "I can do the math Buffy. I mean how long before….?"

"We weren't together. Not like…." Buffy sighed. "We weren't really together until after Sam was born."

"But he's the father."

"Yes."

Joyce made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. "So he…..took advantage of you before…." she shook her head.

"No. I mean….it's not like that. It's complicated." Buffy sighed. "It kinda just happened. Me getting pregnant."

"He was your teacher Buffy. It doesn't just happen!"

"I know. I know that it was all kinds of mess up. - That's why I lied about Sam. I didn't want to get Giles in trouble."

Joyce grunted again in disgust and shot to her feet.

"Mom you don't know him! He would never have taken advantage. - He hated himself for what happened." Buffy explained, pleading for her mom to understand.

"But he let it happen!" Joyce snapped. "He should….is that why you ran away. Because of him."

"What? No! I ran away because I'd just killed Angel, and you'd kicked me out and I was confused. And sure, it might have had something to do with what happened between me and him, but it wasn't the reason. I just needed to get away."

Joyce was pacing the room like a mad woman. Buffy could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. "I can't believe this. He needs to be reported."

"Mom." Buffy sighed.

"I mean it Buffy. You were seventeen, that's rape in California."

"Mom, Giles didn't rape me!"

Joyce glared at her daughter. "Didn't he?"

"No. God!" Buffy shot to her feet. "I knew what I was doing." okay so she might not have been in the best head space at the time, but it wasn't rape. Giles hadn't forced her; he hadn't gotten her drunk or spiked her drink and then took advantage like Parker had. No. Giles had offered her comfort on the worst day of her life. Unlike Parker. "I wanted to be with Giles. And sure I know what happened between us wasn't legal but it happened and I don't regret a single second of it. - It gave me Sam!"

Joyce stopped pacing to stare at her daughter. "Buffy you don't understand what that man did to you. You're too young to."

"I'm almost nineteen. I have a son. I got to college. I kill monsters on a nightly basis. I understand the difference between right and wrong. And what happened between me and Giles wasn't wrong."

There was a tense silence as the two women stared at each other. The room filled with misleading sunlight.

"How long have you been hiding this relationship?"

Buffy released the breath she'd been holding as she slipped back onto the bed. "Since the middle of senior year." she answered quietly.

Joyce took a deep breath. "And who else knows?"

Buffy looked at her hands. "Just….the guys."

The tension was back, almost suffocating this time.

"And you've been together since then?"

Buffy nodded.

"And you think this will last?"

Buffy frowned up at her mom. "Huh?"

"He's old enough to be your father. - He's older than your father. You honestly think this won't end. That you're not going to want someone your own age."

"No!" Buffy snapped, on her feet once more. "I love Giles."

Joyce scoffed. "You don't know what love is."

"I know exactly what love is, because you told me. And I know that I've only ever loved two men in my life…."

"You nineteen."

"….Angel." Buffy announced ignoring her mom's comment. "And Giles. - And you know what. As wonderful as it felt to be with Angel, I always knew it wasn't going to last. That it was going to end painfully for me. I never honestly saw myself spending the rest of my life with him. - But you know what, I can't see myself _not _spending it with Giles." and she meant it.

Joyce stared at her daughter, uncertain and confused and still so angry. "And what am I meant to do? - You expect me to be alright with this?"

Buffy straightened her back. "I don't know. - But whether you except me and Giles or not, its not going to change us being together. It's not going to stop Giles being Sam's father, and wanting to be in his life. - And it's not going to stop me moving in with Giles."

"What?"

"We've been planning it for a while. I just…we wanted to tell you first."

"And this is your idea of telling me?"

"No. We were going to wait until after Christmas. I didn't want to ruin Sam's first Christmas with a fight."

"Really?"

"Giles just wanted to see me and Sam. We didn't mean to fall asleep or for you to find out like this. I didn't want this, mom. I wanted to explain it to you calmly."

Joyce shook her head in disbelief.

"But it wouldn't have mattered how you found out…." Buffy added. "…because this would have been your reaction not matter what. I knew it and that's why I've been putting it off for months. Despite everyone, including Giles, telling me that I had to tell you. I don't want you to hate me, or Giles. I don't want this…" she waved at the distance between them. "…I don't want us to go back to how it was when you found out about me being a slayer. - I just want use all to be a family." she sniffled.

Joyce turned away, looking out of the window, her arms folded over her chest. Finally she took a deep breath and Buffy knew she was calm. Well as near to calm as she was likely to get. "I don't know if I can ever forgive him for this Buffy. - He was in a position of trust…." she turned to look at her daughter. "…not only as a teacher at your school but as your watcher…." she shook her head.

"We're not the first mom. There have been others, like me and Giles. The bond between a slayer and her watcher is so….strong, so intense. No one in the world understands me the way Giles does. No one will ever love me the way he does. - It's like…" she smiled softly at her mom. "We were meant to be together. Destine." Buffy sucked in a breath at the revelation, because she'd never thought of it like that before.

"I need coffee." Joyce sighed warily.

"Mom?"

Joyce stopped on the threshold of Buffy's room.

"Can we….just try to have a nice Christmas? For Sam." she pleaded. "As a family."

Joyce closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath before walking away without a reply.

* * *

**A/N: I was originally going to hold off on Joyce finding out until Faith's return, but I couldn't come up with any other reasons why Buffy and Giles wouldn't tell her, especially as it was having an impact on their plans. I hope you liked it. It's so hard writing angry Mom.**


	11. New Man, New Problems

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**New Man.**

**A/N: The timeline for this chapter doesn't fit with the series. I brought Ethan's visit forward from Buffy's Birthday to Christmas. **

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**New Man, New Problems**

Too say Christmas dinner was uncomfortable and tense would be an understatement. When Buffy and Joyce had come down after their brief talk they found Giles in the kitchen making coffee and feeding Sam. Buffy marched up to him in tent of her usual morning routine when they were alone, pressing a kiss to Sam's head before turning to kiss Giles, but stopped when he looked passed her to her mom with a nervous frown. Instead Buffy smiled, lightly tapped his arm and headed for the coffee pot. Joyce sent Giles a hard furious glare but kept her mouth closed, choosing instead to ignore him as much as she could.

Then tension in the kitchen was making everyone uncomfortable and Buffy decided a distraction. Nodding to Giles, she lifted Sam out of his chair and headed for the living room, where she dropped down on the floor with Sam on her lap. Giles shifted nervously on his feet for a few seconds before Buffy gestured to the chair. "Or you could sit here?" she whispered, tapping the floor beside her.

Giles glanced at the kitchen nervously. "I'll take the chair."

He lowered himself down into it as Joyce walked out of the kitchen with a large mug in her hand. She took the far end of the couch, away from Giles. They all fell into another tense silence before Sam's squeals to be free of his mother's arms broke it.

"Okay Sammy, what you want to open first?" Buffy smiled brightly at him, placing him on the floor in front of her and reaching for a box. "What about this one. - Lets see…Oooh, it's from Grandma." Buffy smiled, glancing over to her mom with a hopeful smile.

Joyce's returning smile was a little on the strained side but she was at least making the effort. "Wait." she said blandly, getting up again and heading for the desk behind Giles. Yanking open the drawer she pulled out a camera. "Alright. Go ahead Sam." she said a little more softly and took a stance behind Buffy to take the photo of her grandson opening his first Christmas present.

It turned out to be a plastic blue and yellow truck. Sam grinned and shook the box, grading at the toy trying to remove it from his home while the flash of Joyce's camera made his squint.

"You can play with it later. Look more presents. Here you go sweetheart. This ones from me." she grinned as Sam began to tug at the loose red wrapping paper. Giggling at the tearing sound. Joyce once again taking a photo.

The rest of the morning passed just like that. Buffy handing presents to Sam while Joyce took photos. Giles sat silent and awkward on the armchair watching the whole scene and feeling like an intruder. When all of Sam's presents were open and he was sat silently playing with them on the rug, Joyce left to go dress.

"I think I should leave." Giles said once they were alone. His voice strained and wary.

Buffy's head snapped around. "What? No."

"Buffy, my presence is making things worse." he sighed, shifting forward on the chair to push himself up.

Buffy crawled across the same gap between them and braced her palms on his thighs. "Don't go. - I thought you wanted to spend Christmas like a family."

"I do. But this…." he waved around. "I don't want to make you mom uncomfortable in her own house. And you two need time to talk. You can come see me tomorrow. - With Sam. And we can work out what we're going to do."

"Do?" Buffy frowned, her hands still holding Giles prisoner.

"About…you moving in?"

Buffy looked at him. "Meaning?"

"Meaning I'd understand if you didn't want to."

"Of course I want to. That's what all this has been about." Buffy insisted firmly. "You know I want to live with you. I want us to be a family."

Giles sighed, brushing the back of his fingers down Buffy's cheek. He leant forward, his forehead touching hers. "I want that to. - But I don't want to come between you and your mum Buffy. I've never wanted that."

"I know." she murmured, closing her eyes.

A sound from the doorway brought drew them apart and he turned to see Joyce stood watching them with a deep frown. Giles cleared his throat and got to his feet, Buffy following after him. He paused to crouch down beside Sam and press a kiss to his forehead.

"I'll see you later son." he whispered, feeling warmth in his chest at being able to say that out loud. Getting back to his feet he turned to nod to Joyce. "I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your day. Sorry for…." he swallowed at the disgruntled look the woman sent his way. "…everything." he sighed. "Merry Christmas."

Buffy glanced at her mom briefly before following Giles to the door, pulling it open and holding it as he strolled out onto the porch. "You sure?"

Giles turned back to look at her. "Yes. - This won't be the first Christmas I've spent alone Buffy."

"I really wish you'd stay." she sighed, stepping out onto the porch after him, tugging the door to behind her. "But I get why you're going."

Giles brushed his thumb along the young woman's jaw, leaning in to kiss her softly. Thankful once again that he can actually do so publicly now. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

Buffy nodded, wrapping her arms tight around herself as Giles reluctantly walked down the steps and up the path. She didn't move to go back inside until he was in his car and driving away.

When she went back in her mom was on the couch watching Sam with an odd look on her face. Buffy closed the door gently and hovered in the living room doorway.

"I guess I should get dinner ready." Joyce stated coolly, getting back to her feet and heading for the kitchen.

"Mom." Buffy sighed rushing after her.

"Not now Buffy. - You wanted to have a normal family Christmas."

"That was before Giles left." Buffy snapped. "You made him feel unwelcome."

"He is."

Buffy glared. "Mom. He's my boyfriend."

Joyce scoffed at the term once more.

"I know you don't like it. I know you're angry. But it's not going to change anything. Just like it didn't change be being a slayer. Me and Giles are together. We're going to stay together. And even if this doesn't work, he's still my watcher and Sam's father, which means he's in my life….our lives, forever. So lease can you at least try to accept that."

Joyce gripped the side of the sink, her head bowed, shaking from side to side. "You don't understand Buffy. What he did. He used you. He betrayed yours…and my, trust in him. - He took advantage."

"He didn't" Buffy snapped. "You weren't there. You don't know what happened between us. So you don't _understand_. You could _never _understand. - And I know the difference. Believe me. I know what being taken advantage off is like. I know what it's like to be used and manipulated. That's not how it was. - If anything I used him. Because I was in pain, and alone, and had no one else to turn to. And he was there for me, because he's always there for me." Buffy voice cracked a little, causing her mom to turn and stare at her, guilt written all over her face. "And I'm going to move in with him. Me and Sam. We're going to be a family, and if you can't accept that then I'm sorry." she snapped, turning on her heels and marching back into the living room to rejoin her son.

"And what about when it does end?" Joyce snapped, following after her. "And it will. It has too. You're eighteen Buffy…."

"I'll be nineteen in two weeks!"

"You're still young and he isn't. You can't honestly think it'll work." she insisted.

"Why, because he's older than me. So was Angel. Angel was two hundred year older than Giles. I don't remember you giving me a lecture then."

"I didn't know then."

Buffy huffed, brushing her hand aimlessly over her son's soft blond hair.

"But now you bring it up, Angel is the perfect example. It didn't work with him either."

"That had nothing to do with the age thing. That was because he went insane and tried to kill everyone I loved." Buffy snapped.

Joyce took a sharp breath as the memory of that time came back to her.

"And that's not going to happen with Giles."

"Maybe not. But it's still…."

"What? Doomed? - Maybe. You know maybe your right. Maybe it won't last. But are you really telling me that I shouldn't even try? If you know when you met Dad that it wasn't going to last, would you have never married him? Never had me?"

Joyce flinched at the question. "Of course not."

"But you want me to give up. Because Giles is older than me and so it's doomed to fail. You want me to just stop loving him. Sorry Mom, that isn't going to happen. I couldn't if I wanted to."

Joyce realised a tired sigh, rubbing gently at her eyes. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know. But you know what. I'm going to get hurt. I've learnt that lesson already with Angel."

Joyce's shoulders slumped and she nodded sadly. The room falling silent as the two women took in everything that was said.

"I forget sometimes." Joyce murmured.

"What?"

"How much older than your years you are." Joyce looked up, meeting her daughter's gaze. "Call him. Tell him to come back. I can't promise to forgive him Buffy. But….I'll try to at least be civil. For yours and Sam's sake."

Buffy smiled. "Thanks Mom."

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles didn't go straight home. Despite what he'd said to Buffy, he wasn't really prepared to spend another Christmas on his own. He'd allowed himself to look forward to spending it with Buffy and Sam. Even if they were going to have to pretend to be just friends. But having everything out in the open now had made it impossible to stay and spend the day with his family. He just couldn't sit there knowing that Joyce hated him.

So he turned the car toward town and headed for one of the bars. It wouldn't be the first Christmas he'd spent in a pub drowning his sorrows. He pulled up outside the O'Reilly's and cut the engine. Taking a deep breath he pushed open the car door and stepped out.

Slowly he made his way towards the door and paused. The hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He waited for whoever it was behind him to make a move. When the man reached for him, Giles span, gripping hold of the man by the throat without really looking at him, before throwing him into the wall of the bar. His fingers tightening.

"ello Ripper." the man wheezed.

"Ethan Rayne." Giles snarled. "You have no idea how thrashing you is going to improve my day." he pulled back his arm to take a swing.

Ethan tried to swallow, staring up at his old friend with pleasing eyes. "No. No. Wait! Hang on! You can beat the crap out of me. Go ahead, I can't stop you."

"Thanks for the permission." Giles scoffed as he pulled his fist back further.

"Or you can listen to what I have to say. Find out what's going on." Ethan said desperately.

Giles frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Something bad's happening. For both of us."

"Bad for you."

"No, no, no! You have to listen to me!" Ethan said, growing increasingly frantic. You have to listen. You're going to need time to prepare."

Giles stared at him. Searching his face for the lie he knew was in there, but the problem with Ethan is he's too good at hiding his secrets. Slowly Giles lowered his arm. "Fine. You tell me what you have, then I'll decide whether its worth not beating the holy hell out of you."

"Good. That's good." Ethan smiled, nodding. "Could you." he pointed to the hand still gripping his throat.

With a slight growl Giles released him, allowing Ethan to take a deep breath.

"So, you gonna by an old friend a drink, Ripper?"

"You can by me a drink, and tell me what the hell your doing here." Giles snapped, taking a step back and heading for the door, his arm gripping Ethan's bicep painfully.

They walked into the small place and ordered two beers before heading to a booth at the end of room. Giles sliding into the seat across from his ex-best friend. They'd barely taken their seats, draping their coats over the back, when a blond waitress arrived with their drinks.

"Brilliant." Ethan grinned. "Now isn't this more fun than kicking my arse?"

"No." Giles replied flatly.

"Oh. Well, it's more fun for me."

"Just tell me what you want to tell me." Giles asked harshly. Lifting his beer to his lips.

"Oh, so cross. We used to be friends, Ripper. When did all that fall apart?"

"About the same time you started worshiping chaos."

"Oh, religious intolerance. Sad, that. I mean, just look at the Irish Troubles."

Giles took a deep angry breath and lifted himself out of his seat to leave.

"Oh, hang on. I'll tell ya." Ethan huffed with a roll of his eyes. "There's something happening in the dark worlds. It's all whispers and rumours out there, but…only one thing's coming through clear. That something's harming demons and its not your girlfriend."

Giles eye snapped to meet Ethan amused blue eyes.

"What you think I didn't know. Come now Ripper." he laughed, shaking his head. "I could have laid money on that one. All that slayer/watcher intensity." Ethan smirked knowingly. "Have to admit I was a little surprised though. I mean you being all civilised and proper now."

"What are they saying?"

"About you and the slayer?" Ethan chucked.

"The whispers Ethan!" Giles snapped angrily.

Ethan huffed, slouching in his seat a little. "Oh, you know demons. It's all exaggeration and blank verse. _Pain as bright as steel_, things like that." the smile faded. "They're scared. There's something called 314 that's got'em scare most of all. The kind of scared that turns to angry."

Giles frowned, taking another sip of his drink. He may not trust Ethan but he couldn't deny that when it came to whispers and rumours Ethan had his ear to the ground.

"I know we're not particularly fond of each other, Rupert…."

Giles couldn't help but laugh.

"…But we are a couple of old mystics. This new outfit, it's blundering into places it doesn't belong. It's throwing the worlds out of balance. And that's way beyond chaos, _mate_."

Giles stared at the table, his head turning over and over. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this new threat had something to do with the soldier boys Buffy had seen around campus.

"We're headed, quite literally, for one hell of a fight." Ethan added, taking a sip of his drink.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Have you heard from Giles?" Buffy asked with concern the instant she opened the door to her best friend.

"No." Willow frowned. "Why? Isn't he here yet."

Buffy stepped back to let her friend in. "He was, but he's not now. He left and I've been calling him at home but he's not answering."

"I'm sure he's….."

"Mom knows. She found us in bed this morning…." Buffy ranted.

"She what?" Willow gasped.

"No. Not like that. We were just sleeping. Only Mom's taking it…well, as predicted and Giles left and now I can't get hold of him."

"I'm sure he's fine." Willow insisted. Though she didn't sound particularly convinced even to her own ear. "He'd probably just….vegging."

"He'd answer the phone if that was…."

Willow squeezed her arms. "Do you want to go check on him?"

Buffy worried at her lip, glancing over to Sam. "I don't….maybe he's fine."

"Buffy?"

She turned to meet her mom's gaze.

"Go. I'll take care of Sam."

**~Don't Lie~**

"So why you sat here with me on Christmas morning, instead of being with the girlfriend and sprog?"

Giles grunted, drunkenly. "Mother."

"Huh?"

"Her mother."

"Ah. Mother's-n-law. Exactly the reason I'm a bachelor." Ethan laughed, taking another gulp of his drink.

"I thought you were a bachelor because women can't stand you." Giles snorted merrily. "Beside Joyce isn't that bad. She's just pissed at me. Quite rightly so. I mean I did seduce her underage daughter, get her pregnant and have a secret relationship with her."

Ethan laughed. "Your right. It is deserved."

Giles nodded. "I just…wish…" he sighed.

"What?"

Giles shrugged. "I don't know. That it wasn't so damn complicated all the time. There's always something getting in the way. It's like the universe is trying to…."

"You know your really very attractive."

"Hm?" Giles frowned looking up from his beer.

"Here's my…my name and number."

Giles looked from Ethan to the waitress and rolled his eyes.

"You give me a call, and I'll show you a good time." Ethan grinned charmingly, holding up a napkin to her.

"Yeah, thanks."

Ethan grinned brightly at the woman before she strolled away.

"Maybe it's doomed for us and I should just let it go." Giles grumbled reaching for his drink once again. "I mean what can I offer her. I'm an unemployed librarian with a tendency to get knocked on the head a lot."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that any more, mate." Ethan smiled. "When you went to the loo, I slipped poison in your drink. You'll be dead in an hour."

Giles looked up at the man, swaying a little.

"Just kidding!" Ethan said, bursting with laughter, which after a few seconds Giles echoed.

"I'm gonna feel like hell in the morning." Giles groaned. "Buffy's going to kill me."

"Relax." Ethan smiled. "Enjoy the night. We're still a couple of sorcerers. The night is still out time. Time of magic."

"It's two in the afternoon." Giles corrected.

"Its midnight somewhere." Ethan chuckled with a shrug.

"To magic." Giles nodded, raising his glass.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy returned to home with Willow feeling irritable and worried. They'd gone to Giles house only to find it empty. After than they'd just gotten Xander to drive them around town, with no idea where to really look. It wasn't like Giles had a life outside of being a watcher. And he wasn't even that anymore. Buffy couldn't help blaming herself for his disappearance. She should have insisted that he stay. Demanded it. Tied him to the chair and refused to let him go. - And she hated it, but she even blamed her mom a little too. The moment she walked through the door she looked around, hoping that Giles had come back but only found her mom sat on the couch watching Sam play with his Christmas gifts, completely obvious to the fact that his dad was missing.

"Well?" Joyce asked as they strolled in.

"Nothing." Willow sighed. "I don't know where he could have gone. I tried scrying for him, but….I don't know. I'm powers are a little wacky lately." she dropped down on the couch next to Mrs Summers, watching Buffy scoop up her son and hold him close, as if scare to lose him too.

"I'm sure he's fine. He'd probably just off somewhere being all…watcher-y." Xander said trying to sound optimistic.

"Watcher-y?" Willow frowned.

"Yeah, you know. Hunting down some old book or communing with some kind of spirit realm. You know, being Giles." he shrugged.

"Yeah." Willow said, jumping onto that ray of hope. "Yeah, that's probably it. He's probably just….doing watcher stuff."

"But he isn't a watcher anymore." Anya put in unhelpfully.

Joyce sucked in a breath and pushed herself off the couch, strolling over to her daughter. "I'm sure he's fine, Buffy. Mr Giles can take care of himself. - And he's expecting to see you tomorrow, right. You'll see. He's probably just off drowning his sorrows or something. You father used to do that all the time when we had a fight."

"We didn't fight though." Buffy mumbled into Sam's hair.

"No. But he didn't leave under the best circumstances. - You'll see. He'll turn up tomorrow with a hangover and an apology."

She sounded so sure. So confident that Buffy wanted to believe it. Even when everything inside her argued against it. This was Sunnydale after all. People going missing was never a good omen.

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles groaned as he rolled over in the sunlight. He'd know he was going to end-up with a head that felt like a lead weight and his body not much better. It was his own fault. He shouldn't have gone to O'Reilly's to begin with. He should have just come straight home and wallowed, then he wouldn't have gotten drunk with an old immoral sorcerer. Part of him wished Ethan had put poison in his drink, at least then he wouldn't feel like this.

Groaning again he turned over and rolled out of bed. Buffy and Sam were meant to come over and he couldn't let them see him like this. Heading for the stairs he took them still half asleep. He paused at the bottom of the first flight to glance in the mirror and see just how bad he looked, so he could judge just how much coffee he was going to need. He yawned and slowly forced his eyes open and…..froze.

"Wha…." His eyes went wider as he stared at his reflection. Confusion written all over the face that wasn't his. He reached up nervously to touch the horns that were protruding from his forehead. "_NO_!" he yelled. Moving to brace his either side of the mirror as he leaned forward, only for his right hand to go straight through the plasterwork.

He stumbled away from the mirror, reaching for the banister to balance himself only for it to come away in his hand. "Damn!" he stormed down the stairs, looking around his apartment. He threw the banister he was still holding aside, where his smashed into one of his chairs, breaking it. Glaring at the pile of wood, Giles ground his teeth. "Ethan." he growled.

He reached for the phone to call Buffy only for it to crumble in his palm. Panic took hold and he headed for the door, collecting his shirt as he went. Yanking it on over the demon scales and muscle he'd suddenly developed. Cringing at the sound of it ripping behind him. "Oh. And I liked that shirt." he whined, dropping the remains on the floor and grabbing a blanket instead.

As he frustratingly yanked open the door it pulled free of it's brackets and fell to the ground as Giles marched through it. He needed to get help. He decided to head to Xander's place, as it was nearest. Then he could get the boy to call Buffy and Willow.

It didn't take him long to reach the boy's basement. He snuck in as cautiously as possible. Not wanting to startle the teenager. He frowned when he saw Xander laying on his pull out bed. "Still asleep? It's 10:30 in the morning." he shook his head. "Xander." he said softly. "Xander, wake up." he shook the bed, not wanting to harm the boy with his sudden super-strength.

"Mom?" Xander grumbled, turning over.

"No. It's not Mom. Now, when you look at me, you may be a little alarmed. But there's no need. It's me, Giles. Now, Ethan has turned me into a demon, and I need your help."

Xander slowly opened his eyes and stared up at him.

"Hell. Yes, it's me." Giles smiled.

"Argh!" Xander yelled, jumping out of the bed and rushing across the room.

"Xander, listen! Don't you understand me?" Giles snapped.

"Demon! Demon!" Xander yelled, fear and panic plastered on his face.

"Please, don't you understand?" Giles pleaded desperately. "No! No, don't!…" he said as Xander reached for a pile of plate, lifting them to throw at him. "…Xander, calm down! No, just…Ow! You're just a little overwrought. Ow!" Giles ducked out of the way of the flying tin plates, turning he rushed out the door.

"That's right! Run for your life!" Xander called after him.

Giles could hear the yells and screams of the public has he fled across Xander's lawn. This was worse than he thought, if his own friend didn't recognise him and couldn't understand him. He had to find Ethan. It was his only hope.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Giles?" Buffy said the moment her phone began to ring, lifting it to her ear with a panic. "Giles?"

"No. It's me. I was just attacked by a demon."

Buffy slumped for a second before concern for her friend had her focused again. "What? When?"

"About ten seconds ago. I don't know what kind. Big and horny…."

Buffy frowned. "You mean….?"

"With horns."

"Oh. - Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I was just getting ready to head over to Giles. Meet me there. Call Will."

"Okay."

Buffy hung up and grabbed her jacket. "Mom! Mom!"

Joyce appeared at the door. "Yes Buffy?"

"I need you to look after Sam. Can you?"

"Is it Giles?" she asked with genuine concern that eased the tension in Buffy.

"I hope not. Xander was just attacked by a demon. I need to get over to Giles and see if he's okay, in case this things coming after me and those closest to me. So you have to stay inside and don't open the door."

Joyce nodded. "Okay. Be careful."

"I will." she pressed a kiss to Sam's head and rushed past them and out of the house.

**~Don't Lie~**

She met Xander, Willow and Anya at the entrance to Giles apartment complex. "What was it?"

"I don't know. It had horns and pointy things and it was huge."

"So it had pointy things. What kind of pointy things?" Buffy said as they rushed down the steps.

"The pointy kind. And tufty ears. - And maybe a saucepan-shaped bruise."

Buffy frowned at him.

"What it was all I had."

"Giles will know….."

The four of them drew to a halt. Buffy's eyes going wide with fear, shock and panic, as they stared at the broken, hanging door.

Buffy ran into the apartment. "Giles! Giles!" he screamed, glancing around at the chaos. The broken banister and chair. The crushed phone. Her stomach dropping at the sight of the torn shirt. The one Giles had been wearing yesterday when she'd last saw him. Tears began to burn at her eyes.

"He's not upstairs." Xander said.

"Oh, God, Giles." Willow gasped.

Buffy swallowed her tears, her hands shaking as she held the green shirt. "Ok. There's a demon and Giles is gone. - But it doesn't mean that's he's hurt." she murmured. "….I mean, there's no blood anywhere, so maybe the demon just took him somewhere." she was grasping at screws. She knew she was.

"I think it ate him up." Anya said unhelpfully.

Xander shot her a shut-up look as Buffy dropped down onto the desk chair, her hands tightening around the fabric as tear rolled down her cheeks.

"This is all my fault." she sniffed. "I shouldn't have let him leave. I shouldn't have stopped searching." she shook her head.

"Buffy, you couldn't have known." Willow whispered, crouching down and resting her hands over Buffy's trembling once.

"I'm the slayer. I should have known."

"Buff…." Xander sighed, his chest aching for his best friend.

Suddenly Buffy's back straightened. "We need to find this demon, so I can _kill _it.."

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles had no choice to head straight for the cemetery. It was the only place he could go to avoid being seen. He'd have to wait for nightfall before he could go and find Ethan and rip him limb from limb.

"Well! - What do I spy with my little eye? A demon. That would be…oh, right. The things I can kill."

Giles groaned inwardly at the sound of a familiar voice. Because his day just couldn't get any worse. "Spike." he sighed. "Wonderful."

"Giles?"

"Go on, then…." Giles turned, hands raised ready to take the vampire on. "Let's get on with the fighting. - You understand me." he frowned.

"Of course I understand you." Spike smirked.

"I'm speaking English?"

"No, you're speaking Fyarl. I happen to speak Fyarl. And, by the way, why the hell are you suddenly a Fyarl demon?" Spike laughed, digging around in the pockets of his long leather over-coat for his cigarettes as he pressed his back against the tree he was seeking shelter from. "You just come over all demony this morning?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. Thanks to Ethan Rayne." Giles growled the man's name. "You have to help me find him. - He must undo this, and then he needs a…good being killed."

"And I'm supposed to just help you out of the evilness of my heart?" Spike asked, raising a brow.

"You help me and I….I don't kill you." Giles said. Completely failing in sounding threatening.

"Oh, tremendously convincing. Try it again without the stutter." Spike grinned, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Money. I could pay you money." Giles said quickly.

Spike pushed himself off the tree with sudden interest. "Oh. I like money. How much?"

"$100?"

"$100? You'll have to do a _lot _better than that. $200."

"Fine."

Spike stared at him in surprised. "Right, then. What's first? I tell the slayer what you've gotten yourself into?" he chuckled.

"No." Giles snapped. "I…I don't want to worry her. When I find Ethan I can clear all this up without Buffy ever having to find out anything ever happen to me."

"Oh. Keeping secrets now?" Spike smirked. "Nice to see a strong healthy relationship in this day and age."

"Shut up." Giles snapped, stomping off past Spike.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy sat on top of the weapon's chest a thick book on her lap as she flipped through the pages of demonic illustrations in search of pointy things and tufty ears. Giles was alright, she kept lying to herself. He had to be. The demon just took him for….some reason. He wasn't dead. She could let him be dead. It hurt too much to think that.

Around her the others sorted through book. A silent morbidity filling the room. Buffy lifted her hand to rub at her temples, closing her eyes to fight back the tears that were once again threatening to engulf her. She couldn't give into the feelings of loss. She needed to focus and find the demon. Either to save Giles or revenge him.

"Buffy, even if we figure out what kind of demon got Giles, how are we gonna find it?" Willow asked, pulling the slayer from her misery.

"We'll figure it out." she murmured, flipping the page and freezing at a picture of a demon. "Oh. This one has tufty ears." she said, walking over to show Xander.

Xander shook his head. "No."

The sound of movement outside had them all freezing and silent. Buffy snuck back to the weapons chest, pulling out the first thing she touched, a stake, then turned to begin a quiet cautious path to the front door. Part of her, deep in her heart, hoping it was Giles. When the door suddenly threw open she moved to attack only stopping herself at the last minutes.

"Riley?"

"Buffy?"

The slayer felt her heart drop, her shoulders slumping forward as she lowered her stake. "Riley?" Willow said, rushing over to join them. "What are you doing here?"

"I got called back last night."

"I meant here." Willow smiled.

"Oh. There were 911 calls from a couple of different place. Including here." He informed them, looking between Willow and Buffy. His arm unconsciously going around the redhead, as if sensing her distress.

"You get 911 calls?" Xander asked.

"We have a tap into the system. It flags anything with possible nonhuman causes. We check 'em out. What are you doing here?" he asked looking down at Willow.

"This is Giles apartment. He's missing." the redhead replied, turning sympathetic eyes on Buffy as the slayer walked back to the pile of books.

"The calls?" Buffy said after a few minutes. "Did anyone see what did this?"

"Negative. No."

Willow smiled up at his military speak.

"Neighbours just heard, you know, growling and things breaking." Riley replied gently. "Sounded like a struggle."

Willow snuggled closer, her arms tightening around the soldier. "Poor Giles."

Riley brushed his fingers through the hair at the back of her head.

"We'll get him back." Buffy insisted.

Everyone looked at her sadly.

Uneasy with the sudden attention Buffy turned and walked through the alcove towards the bathroom. Closing the door she lent against it, her head hanging low. She could feel the tremor overtaking her body and her legs turning to water. She slid down to sit on the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest so as to press her face into them. Then she let the tears come.

She didn't know how long she was sat there, but by the time Xander had yell though the house for her, her face was red and swollen, and her back ached from pressing it against the bathroom door. She ran out of the bathroom, not caring how she looked, to find the gang curled over a large book.

"We got him!" Xander yelled in triumph after a second of looking at his best friend.

Buffy leant over the back of the couch to look at the illustration.

"A Fyarl demon. Sort of a foot-soldier type…." Willow read. "…works for other demons lots of the time. Very strong….Ugh. And, hey, mucus."

"Mucus?" Buffy frowned.

Willow was cut of from explaining the paralyzing mucus by Riley's phone suddenly going off.

"How do I kill it?" Buffy asked, ignoring the man's conversation.

"Silver. A weapon made of silver."

Buffy nodded, pushing herself off the couch.

"Professor Walsh saw the demon driving down Main Street in a small grey car. A Citron."

Buffy frowned.

"It stole Giles' car." Willow voiced.

"Why would a demon steal a car?" Xander frowned.

"Why would a demon steal _that _car?"

"A demon that steals a car has a reason. A purpose. But if doesn't sound like these Fyarl demons are really big independent thinkers. So, Will, the spells that are going wrong, could they be caused by someone using magic's to control a demon? Making this Fyarl demon attack Giles?"

Willow looked between Riley and Buffy. "Yeah. Yeah. That would draw in a lot of dark energy."

"Ok. Willow, Xander, stay here. Whoever controlling this demon may call and ask for a ransom. Give 'em anything they want." Buffy ordered.

"You got it."

"Riley, we're going to the magic shop. Maybe they needed supplies." she said marching past the soldier. Pausing only for a moment by Giles desk. "Ahh, something silver…? Ah."

"A letter opener? It's not very sharp."

Buffy looked up at him with a dangerous fury. "Then I'll have to put some muscle behind it."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy kicked open the door of the magic shop and marched in. "Ok. Credit-card slips, sales receipts….Help me look." she ordered, ducking behind the counter.

"You shouldn't have done that to the door."

"I do not have time to play by the rules." Buffy snapped frustratingly, yanking open drawers.

"I have a master key. It opens every shop on Main Street."

Buffy's head snapped around to stare at him. "Oh. - Well, next time, absolutely." she murmured, flicking thought a receipt pad.

"I don't know what I'm lookin' for?"

"I do. Ethan Rayne." Buffy all by growl, slamming the drawer closed.

"Who's that?"

"Professional bad guy. He's gotta be the guy that made the demon attack Giles. They have….history."

Riley snatched the paper out of Buffy's hand and pulled out his phone. "Command, are you there?"

"What are you doing?"

"It's Agent Finn. I need a search. Local hotel registrations matching the name Ethan Rayne. R-A-Y-N-E. call me back."

"You can do that?"

"It'll take a couple of minutes." Riley nodded with a small smile.

"Get in the car. I'm ready to go." Buffy nodded, heading back to the door.

"Buffy!"

"What?"

"Earlier, when I talked to Professor Walsh, she gave me very specific orders."

"Yeah?"

"She said when we located the demon…..I'm not supposed to bring you along."

Buffy frowned. "Wait. Professor Walsh? She's one of you guys?"

Riley flinched. "Huh….yeah. She kinda…"

"And you told her about me?"

Riley shifted on his feet. "Huh, well…yeah. I mean you're the slayer, right. You know all about….I had to tell her."

Buffy's face pinched tight. "Weren't you the one going on about the important of secret identities and how I couldn't tell anyone about you and then you go and blab to your boss?"

"Buffy she's not just my boss, she the head of the whole thing. She had to know."

"Right." she turned to leave.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the car."

"I can't take you with me." Riley insisted.

"You're not taking me with you. I'm going and I am _letting _you come along." Buffy snapped angrily.

"Buffy, it's not your call. This is a military operation now."

Buffy took a step forward. "Then call out the troops." she said firmly. "Because nothing less is gonna stop me. This demon did something to Giles and I'm going to kill it."

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles rolled out of the speeding car, watching as Spike sped off. He hated to admit it, but he owe him one. More than just $200. Getting to his feet, Giles raced in the opposite direction. He wasn't far from the motel now. Only about a mile. Keeping to the backstreets and alleys, Giles ran.

When he finally reached the Sunnydale Motor Inn he didn't even pause. He crashed into the room the waitress had given as Ethan's address, breaking the door in half. Ethan spun to meet him. His hands raised in defence, his eyes wide with panic.

"Now, it….Calm down. It's OK." Ethan said, backing away as Giles marched into the room. Climbing up on the couch to get away from his furious friend. "Good Giles."

Giles lunged for him.

"No! No! Don't kill me! No! Don't kill me! Giles…." Ethan pleaded as Giles gripped hold of his throat, lifting him off his feet.

"I can't undo you if you kill me!" Ethan wheezed.

The fury was growing, taking over. He threw Ethan across the room. Sending him crashing into the dresser. Just as Buffy rushed through the door.

"You've gotta stop it! It killed Ripper and now it's trying to get me!" Ethan yelled.

Giles looked between Ethan and Buffy. He could see the dark shadows beneath her eyes and the redness that still clung to their lids. He could also see the pure hate in them. He stepped forward, wanting to hold her, reassure her. He wasn't thinking though and found himself of the receiving end of Buffy's boot. Only this time he didn't have protective padding. The pain rippled through his chest.

"Buffy. Stop. It's me." he yelled. Then groaned to himself. It was useless, she couldn't understand him.

"What did you do to him? What did you do?" she yelled.

Giles got to his feet, the demonic personality once again overshadowing his humanity as he rushed at Buffy, shoving her into the wall.

Buffy pushed herself away from the wall and punched him square in the jaw, knocking him off balance and to the floor.

"You're only gonna make him angry." Ethan laughed as Riley pushed him into the dresser, his arm pulled behind his back.

Giles swung at Buffy, but her reflects were too quick and she ducked out of the way.

A few more punches, and a suitcase stand later Giles was on his back, Buffy knelt above him, her eyes red and furious. The lights of the room gleaming off a silver knife.

"_This _is for Giles!"

"For me?"

She raised her hands, Giles eyes widening in fear. The knife sank deep into his chest as he looked up at the girl he loved.

"Oh, God! Giles? - _Giles_!" Buffy gasped in panic. She pulled the knife free, wincing at his before throwing it aside. "Oh, God! Giles! Giles! I'm….I'm so sorry! Please don't die." fear filled her voice. "You can't die."

"Actually, I feel quite well. Except for the rage." Giles replied, not caring that she couldn't understand him.

"I think he's OK." Buffy murmured as relief flooded in. She acted out of instinct, dripping down to press her lips to his demonic mouth. "You're OK."

Sitting up she glanced at the letter opener a few inches away. "Was that thing real silver?" she asked him.

"Buffy." Giles grumbled beneath her.

The slayer looked back down at him. "Oh. Right." she scrambled off her boyfriend. "You…" she glared. "Fit it. Now!"

Ethan sighed, slumping forward into the dresser.

Buffy gripped the man's collar, freeing him from Riley's grip. "Now."

Ethan strolled over to his bags and pulled out the supplied, before sitting in the middle of the room and arranging them. Giles got to his feet and sat on the end of the bed. It didn't take all that long for the spell to be reversed and Buffy watched as her watcher boyfriend slowly became human again.

"I've really got to learn to just do the damage and get out of town." Ethan groaned. "It's the 'stay and gloat' - get me every time."

Buffy kneed him in the back as she walked over to Giles as he slipped into one of Ethan's shirts and stared at himself in the mirror.

"You OK?" she asked him sheepishly.

Giles smiled, rubbing at his face before turning to look at her. "Oh, erm…embarrassed, mostly. Ethan's wardrobe's not helping any."

"Why?" Buffy frowned.

"Look at it?" he replied, wrinkling his nose.

Buffy tilted her head.

"Getting drunk and letting that bastard turn me into a demon…."

"You let him? You said yeah sure making me a big ugly demon guy?"

"Ugly?"

Buffy flushed. "Well you weren't you, so yeah."

Giles sighed. "I should have know what he was going to do?"

"Aren't you the one that told me not to blame myself after what happened with Parker?" Buffy sighted, taking a step closer.

"Not the same thing Buffy."

"Isn't it. - He got you drunk and took advantage."

The pair looked at each other intensely.

"How did you know it was me?" Giles said finally, needing to change the subject.

"Your eyes." she said softly. "You're the only person in the world that can look that annoyed and in love with me at the same time."

Giles released a gentle laugh, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

"Is this gonna go on much longer? I'd rather like to be going before your lovey dovey-ness makes me throw up."

Giles pulled back to glare at Ethan, his arms still secure around Buffy.

"And why would I let you go?" Buffy asked.

"Well, maybe because you have no choice. I'm human. You _can't _kill me. What's a slayer gonna do to me?" Ethan's smug laughter died as two military guys strolled into the motel room.

"By the power of the US Military your being taken into custody, pending a determination of your status."

Giles frowned from Riley to Buffy. "What?"

"I'll explain everything later." Buffy whispered.

Giles looked up again, meeting Ethan's worried gaze. A silent message passing between them as he was dragged out.

"They'll, uh, take Mr Rayne to a secret detention facility in the Nevada desert." Riley informed them. "I'm _sure _he'll be rehabilitated in no time."

Giles frowned up at the soldier.

"Giles…." Buffy glanced up. "….this is Riley Finn. He's Willow's new…." she looked at Riley with a smirk. "…_friend_?"

Riley nodded. "Very nice to meet you, Mr Giles. Willow's told me a lot about you."

Giles looked at the young man in surprise. "I…uh…yes. I wish I could say the same."

Buffy flushed. "Well you know, they haven't been…well…."

"It's kind of new." Riley said quickly.

"And your one of these commandos Buffy's been seeing around campus?"

"Huh." riley shifted, looking between the pair. "I'm afraid that's…."

Buffy smirked. "You just had two MP's drag Ethan out of her and mentioned a top secret facility. Cat's kinda out of the bag." she laughed.

Riley cringed. "Right. Yes. - Speaking of which I need to get back. Debriefing. - It was a pleasure to meet you Mr Giles."

"And you." Giles nodded cautiously.

He watched the young man leave. "Well…thanks for the heads up."

"I only found out a few week ago while fighting the Gentleman. Then their was the whole end of the world thing, then mom came home. I didn't exactly…."

Giles stared down at her with a raised disbelieving brow.

"OK. My bad. I should have told you straight away, but…well…" she shrugged. "I don't know. He asked me not to and…."

"And he knows about you." Giles murmured.

"Obviously."

"And he's dating Willow?"

"Yeah. They really cute together. - Giles? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. - Just…because careful. Ethan may be a manipulative evil bastard but he warned me about them, and I'm inclined to believe him."

"After what he did?"

Giles looked down at her. "Yes. Just keep your eyes open Buffy, and don't get too involved with these army types."

Buffy stared up at his concerned face, her fingers knotting with him. "Alright."

Giles smiled down at her. Ducking to press a kiss to her lips. "Let's get out of here?"

"Mom's still got left over turkey."

"I don't…."

"She says she'll deal. - She told me to call you back yesterday but you were out getting drunk with your evil college buddy."

Giles groaned. "If I'd known, believe me I would have rather been with you."

"Good to know." Buffy smiled.

* * *

**A/N: I always got annoyed with the fact that Riley walks in and starts throwing his military weight around and acting like the boss. I mean he shows Buffy no respect for what she does. It's kind of like he see it as her weird little hobby rather than an actually calling. He never takes what she tells him seriously until it is proven correct by the Inititive or by him almost dying. I wonder why the hell Buffy ever started dating him at all. **

**And then he's always whining about how Buffy kicks his ass. Maybe that's why I think I would have prefered him if he was with Willow. **

**And for those who are wondering about Tara. Well, I will probably bring her in, but she's not going to be Willow's girlfriend. - at least not yet. She'll just be a friend for now. **


	12. Secrets & Lies

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**I in Team & Goodbye Iowa. **

* * *

**Secrets & Lies**

Moving in with Giles was the best decision Buffy had ever had. She was sure of that. The only thing that she really hated was the actual moving part. Lugging around boxes wasn't what her slayer powers were for.

"Where do you want this?" Xander asked as he carried another brown box through the door.

"Just drop it down over there." Giles nodded to the pile that was building.

"Just how much stuff do you have Buff?" Xander wheezed.

"Not much. It mostly weapons, cloths and Sam's stuff." she said defensively.

"Well I'm just glad you two can finally do this." Willow grinned.

"Yeah." Buffy agrees, smiling up at Giles as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "But are you sure you're gonna be OK alone?"

"I won't be alone. I met this girl, Tara at my Wicca group. She's got this nightmare room-mate, so I offered her your old bed."

"Is that wise?" Giles frowned.

"Wise? You mean sharing a room with someone who isn't going to freak out over the piles of occult books and herbs and candles?" she smirked.

"Right."

"Anyway, she's nice. - She might actually be able to help me with spells and stuff."

"Are you recruiting?" Buffy chuckled. "Cause you know, we're still a _secret _society right. I mean, Riley's one thing but…."

"No I'm not, but it wouldn't be all that bad to have another Wicca in the arsenal."

"Let's just see how everything goes." Giles said. "You two may not take to living together."

"Yeah. Maybe. - What about you two? You ready for this?"

Giles pulled Buffy in tighter.

"Yep. Totally ready."

"So how's momma bear handling it?" Xander asked, dropping down onto the couch. "Still freaking out about you two?"

"Mom's…..getting used to it." Buffy sighed. "I think her biggest problem is not having Sam around all the time now. But I promised to take him by as much as I can. And she's offered to baby-sit with anything big and bad comes a knocking. So….she'll be fine."

Willow sent them a supportive smile.

"Damn I've got to go." Buffy said suddenly, looking at the clock on the wall. "I'm meeting Riley at the school. I got to meet with Professor Walsh about the Initiative."

Giles stiffened.

"I'll be fine." She murmured reassuringly. "She's just curious, that's all."

"Just…be careful." he whispered.

"Always am. - I'll see you in a few hours."

**~Don't Lie~**

"So. The slayer?" Professor Walsh said, leaning forward on her desk to observe Buffy closely.

"Yeah. That's me." Buffy smiled, trying not to feel intimidated.

"We thought you were a myth."

"Well, you were Myth-taken."

"And to think all that time you were sitting in my class. Well, most of those times. I always knew you could do better than a B minus."

Buffy stared down at her lap awkwardly.

"Now I understand your energies were directed to the same place as ours, in fact. It's only our methods that differ. We use the latest in scientific technology and state-of-the-art weaponry, and you, if I understand correctly, poke them with a sharp stick."

Buffy shifted in her seat. She hadn't felt this small since she was four years old. She'd thought the professor was a great woman, a role model, but right now she wanted to show her just what a sharp stick could do. But she had to listen to this. She had to get into their inner circle. "Oh, well, it's more effective than it sounds." she said calmly.

She's spent the last week talking to Giles about what Ethan had said. Calling in contacts. She hadn't mentioned it to Willow; she didn't want to put her in the awkward position of having to lie to Riley. Because Willow was a terrible liar. So Giles and her had come up with a plan. Get inside. See what their up too. It hadn't been that hard to get Riley to get her clearance - as he put it. Now all she had to do was make it through the meeting with the Professor without showing her what a slayer was capable of.

It wasn't that she believed Ethan, or trusted him. But Giles seemed to take what he'd said to heart and she trusted his instincts. After all he'd been her watcher for years. He'd kept her alive longer than most Slayer. - Okay so she died once, but that wasn't his fault.

"Oh, I'm quite sure of that. As I'm just as sure we can learn much from each other. I'm working on getting you clearance to come into the Initiative. I think you'll find the results of our operation most impressive. Agent Finn here alone has killed or captured….how many is it?"

"17. 11 Vampires. 6 Demons." Riley stated proudly.

"Oh. Wow." Buffy murmured, trying to sound impressed. "I mean, that's…17."

"What about you?" Professor Walsh asked smugly.

"Me?"

"How many hostiles would you say you've slain?"

"Uh…well….Are we talking per month or year?"

"Overall?"

"I don't really keep a running total."

"Then estimate."

"Huh…I'd say….one a slow week….84."

Buffy didn't want to admit it, but she felt a strange kind of stratification at seeing the way the Professor's face tightened. How's that for a sharp stick. She did kind of feel sorry for the way Riley stiffened beside her. His eyes wide as he stared down at her.

"Well….that's….impressive."

There was an awkward silence where Buffy tried not to grin proudly.

"Well. Then I guess you'll be a great asset to our operation. - I'll contact you as soon as I've got your clearance." The Professor said, getting to her feet. "I look forward to working with you."

"Yeah. Me too."

**~Don't Lie~**

"How did it go?" Giles asked as Buffy strolled back into the apartment two hours later.

"Good. I think I'm in. - You should have seen her face when I told her my score card."

"Score card?"

Buffy dropped down next to Giles, curling into him. "She asked my kill rate. She was all 'Riley's killed 17' and then she asked how many I'd killed. Her face. Seriously Giles, I wish I'd taken a photo. - I did feel sorry for Riley though. He was so proud of 17." she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Did she tell you anything about the Initiative?"

"Nah. She was all about showing off. - You know she insulted Mr. Pointy."

"No. How dare she. The witch." Giles smirked.

"Seriously. She was all turning her nose up at my methods because I don't shoot lazar guns. I wanted to show her just what Mr. Pointy could do."

"You didn't?"

"No. I played sweet and quiet. All 'I can't wait to work with you.'"

Giles sighed. "We still not sure whether there's anything to what Ethan said."

Buffy turned to look up at him. "No. But you believe there is, don't you."

"I just think we'd be better knowing what their up too. If I was still a member of the council I could just…."

Buffy's hand reaching up to cup his face. "You miss it, don't you?"

"I miss being about to get the information we need. But I don't miss having to answer to them. - If I was still a watcher, you wouldn't be here." he murmured, dropping a kiss to her lips.

"Then I'm glad you quit. - That we both did."

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles rolled over in the bed, watching Buffy dress. "You heading out on patrol?"

"No. Riley just called. They want me to join them on some kind of training thing-y. I think it's like some kind of final exam."

"Just be careful." Giles yawned, stretching out beneath the covers.

Buffy strolled over, dropping down onto the edge of their bed and leaned in to kiss him. It was meant to be a peck, but it quickly turned into something deep and sensual. Giles hand coming up to cup the back of her head. Buffy moaned and forced herself to pull back after a few minutes. "I got to go."

"Do you?"

"Yes. If we want to find out what their hiding, we do."

Giles grunted. "Fine. Go."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." she said with a deep seductive tone. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Buffy reluctantly stood up and headed for the stairs. Suddenly having another reason to hate Riley's military buddies.

**~Don't Lie~**

As it turned out the final test was her against Riley's entire unit. Easy pickings really. Buffy wasn't sure if Professor Walsh was angry or impressed that she'd taken out five armed and fully trained men single handed in twenty-eight seconds. Riley at least had been.

Buffy took the stairs to the loft bedroom as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake Giles. Which as it turned out was a waist of time. She turned at the top to find him sat up in bed, the lamp on beside him, reading.

"How'd it go?" he asked, never lifting his eyes from the page.

Buffy reached for the hem of her shirt, dragging it over her head and dropping it on the chair by the dresser, before dropping down on the end of the bed to deal with her boots. "I'm in."

"Wonderful."

Buffy sighed, kicking her boots beneath the bed and crawling up and into Giles arms. He set the book aside and hugged her. Dropping a kiss to her hair.

"You alright?"

"Just tired and achy. - And I don't like this. Riley's a friend, and him and Willow are getting so close. I don't want to ruin it for her, after everything with Oz."

"I know. - But…."

"Yeah. Just….I just hope that they don't hate me when this is done?"

"If the Initiative have nothing to hide, they never have to know."

Buffy remained quiet, closing her eyes and settling into her lovers arms as sleep began to blanket her.

**~Don't Lie~**

"The place is huge." Buffy said as she spoon some vegetables into Sam's open mouth. "And I'm not exaggerating. I'd stay it probably cover the whole campus, and beyond." she glanced up to see Giles watching her intensely, a mug of tea braced between his hands. "They've got this thing. They call it the Pit. They do experiment and stuff on the demons they capture."

Giles frowned. "Hostile?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm guessing they didn't get the memo on the friend demons. They're putting those chips in all kinds of demons."

Giles stared down into his mug. "Anything else?"

"There was a tone of stuff that was out of bounds to me."

"So you didn't see or hear anything about 314?"

Buffy shook her head.

A loud bleeping noise cut the conversation short.

"What's that noise?"

"Pager. Maggie gave it to me. Means their calling me in." Buffy said, getting to her feet. She handing Giles the bowl of baby food as she went to for her bag. "I got to go."

"Now?" Giles frowned, looking from Buffy to Sam.

"You wanted me on the inside Giles. This was your idea. If you want to know what's going on in there, I've got to go and play."

Giles huffed. "Right. - Your right. You should go."

Buffy rushed over to him. Pressing a kiss to his lips, before dropping one to Sam's head. "I'll be back soon."

"Be…."

"Yeah, I know. Love you."

"Love yo…." he was cut short by the slamming of his front door.

"Well, I guess its just you and me son."

**~Don't Lie~**

"So where's Buffy?" Xander asked, sitting beside Anya on the ex-watcher's couch.

"The Initiative called her him." Giles replied, his tone wary and unimpressed. It had been almost two weeks since Buffy had agreed to go undercover within the military unit and he was beginning to question whether it had been such a good idea. Especially when she hadn't come back with anything but had spent more and more time way from him and Sam. They saw her less now that when she was living at the campus and neither of them liked it. Sam had been more of a handful of late.

"Yeah. She does seem to be throwing herself in there." Xander replied.

"Hmm."

There was a strained silence for a few minutes before Xander began to change the subject.

"But I have something that can cheer you up." He grinned over the back of the couch.

Giles groaned as he poured the tea. Xander had been trying for day to get him and everyone else to buy his energy bars. "I don't know how many more way I can say _I'm not interested_."

"Try on. - Check these flavours. Cherry Berry, Maple Walnut. Almond Liquorice."

Giles stepped out of the kitchen with his fresh cup of tea.

"Ew!" Anya cringed.

"Anya, we don't say _Ew _in front of potential customers."

"Just skip this part and tell him you want money to but me pretty things. He'll understand."

Giles rolled his eyes with a defeated sigh. "Very well. Um….Maple Walnut."

"An excellent choice." Xander smiled brightly. Pulling out the bar, he unwrapped it and handed it over.

Giles looked at it for a moment before taking a bit and….freezing. "Please leave my home now."

"It's the, uh, the gritty texture, isn't it? Maybe you're more of a Cherry Berry fellow."

Giles dropped the bar on the table and searched for his trash can to spit into. The sound of a babyish giggle catching his attention. Sam sat on his blanket, staring up at him with wide eyes chuckling, probably at the disgusted face Giles was pulling as he fought to keep the revolting food product from slipping down his throat. He finally located his bin and spat just as someone began to bang on his door.

It burst open before he could get to it as Spike rushed in with a blanket covering his head. "Close the door!"

"Spike? You may wanna give up these morning jogs." Xander said sarcastically.

The vampires shot him a death glare. "Solider boys are out. I've been tryin' to keep 'em off my scent, run 'em in circles. But they keep comin'."

Giles pushed his door closed before turning to the vampires. "Um. And how is this our concern? - Seeing as you've expressed the wish to have nothing more to do with us?" he asked, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

"Spike said that?"

"Mm." Giles nodded.

"That hurts." Xander said, feigning insult.

"All right. Whaddaya want me to say?" Spike groaned, turning to stare at the teenager. "I need help. - And no cheek from you." he said turning to point an accusatory finger at the ex-watcher.

Giles ran his thumb and forefinger across his lips in an 'zipped' motion. An wholly innocent look on his face.

"Look! The buggers shot me…in the back." Spike informed them, shrugging out of his long coat.

"Remind me. Why should I help you?" Giles asked, resting against the desk, folding his arms over his chest.

"Because you do that. You're the goody-good guys. You're the bloody freaking cavalry."

"No, you can come up with a better answer than that." Giles smirked. "Why should _I _help _you_?"

"Oh! - Because I helped you. - When you turned into that Fyarl demon, I helped you, didn't I?"

Giles nodded. "And that was out of the, um, evilness of your heart?"

"O, hell, no. I made you pay me…."

Giles looked at the vampire. Waiting for him to catch on and smirking brightly when he finally did.

"You right bastard." Spike spat, huffing as he dug his hands into the pockets of his black jeans for the money Giles had given him a few hours earlier. "That's all that's left. I spent the rest on blood and smokes, which I'll never see again." he bemoaned. "Ah, come on! Circle the wagons. Tend to the wounded here. No time for layabouts."

Giles sighed as he closed the drawer of his desk. "Alright. Let's see."

Spike stripped out of his coat and shirt, before taking a seat in the desk chair while Giles went for the first aid box in the bathroom. When he got back he got to work. "Anya hold this?" he ordered, handing the ex-demon a flashlight. He pulled on a pair of gloves and pulled out a pair of surgical tweezers.

"Ow! Watch it. That hurts." Spike said through gritted teeth.

"It doesn't seem to be a bullet." Giles said, tugging at the small red object. "It's too deeply embedded for a tranquilliser dart."

"Also, not tranquil." Spike murmured.

"Some sort of….illumination emanating from it. - It's blinking."

"I don't care if it's playing Rock the Casbah on the bloody jew's-harp. Get it out of me."

"Alright. Anya, there's a bottle of Cognac in the cupboard by the sink. Will you get it for me?"

"What? You gonna get snockered now?"

"It's not for me, you prat. If I'm gonna operate, I need you anaesthetised. This'll take time."

"We don't have any. That blinking thing? - My pseudo-Soldier memory bank tells me that's a tracer.

"A what?" Giles and Spike quizzed in unison.

"It's like a homing beacon. And if commandos are reading the signal, they're comin' home."

Giles groaned. "Well, we need to but some time. It's in deep, and I'm no surgeon. - Call Willow."

While Xander rushed over to the phone to call his best friend, Giles got of the table and started clearing it. "Anya, can you take Sam into his room. Put him in his cot."

The ex-demon nodded and headed for the little boy, holding him awkwardly at arms lengths as she carried him through the alcove and into the back bedroom.

"She's on her way." Xander said as he rejoined Giles at the table.

"Good. - Alright you, on the table."

Spike was already gulping down the Cognac. "Alright bossy." he climbed onto the table and stretched himself out.

Giles left him there while he went and finished getting supplies.

It took Willow a good twenty minutes to get to Giles place, and the watcher was already working on the vampire when she rushed in. Dropping her bag on the floor, the book she needed already in her hands and ready. She stopped in front of Giles and instantly started reciting the spell they needed. Spike drunken moans humming in the background.

"So, how's this supposed to work again?" Xander whispered.

"If she succeeds, her spell will ionise the atmosphere around us, thereby disrupting the tracer's signal. It buys us time."

Giles cringed, closing his eyes as a bright electrifying light filled the room. Blowing all of the bulbs in the house. Sam instantly started crying from the next room.

"Did it work? Is the atmosphere ionised?"

Giles looked up at her with a slight surprised smirked as he saw her hair standing on end. "I'd venture yes. - Xander, go check on Sam will you."

"Already on it." the teenager called as he rushed towards the alcove.

It took another twenty minutes to finally get the tracer out of Spike's shoulder.

"It feels and looks, like the ionising spell's wearing off." Willow said almost in a panic.

"Giles?" Xander pressed around a mouth full of health bar.

"I've got it. I've got it!" Giles murmured; tugging on the little device until it finally slipped free. He stared at it for a moment.

"Giles?" Willow said, pulling him back.

"Right." he nodded, stepping back and rushing to the bathroom. Dropping it into the toilet and flushing. He released a breath of relief and walked slowly back to the living room, dropping down into the chair.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy stared into the small camera. She couldn't believe she'll actually trusted the woman. Admired her. She should have known it was a trap. "Professor Walsh?" she said firmly. "That simple little recon you sent me on? Wasn't a raccoon." she shook her head. At least she knew now. Knew that the Initiative wasn't want it pretended to be. They knew now that Ethan was right. "Turns out it was me trapped in the sewers wit a faulty weapon and two of your pet demons. If you think that's enough to kill me, you really don't know what a slayer is. - Trust me when I say you're gonna find out." Standing Buffy lifted her food; bring it down on the camera with a sense of satisfaction.

**~Don't Lie~**

"It'll be dark soon." Giles said, stripping off the surgical gloves. "I think it would be wise for you to leave Sunnydale."

"I'm not going anywhere." Spike insisted, dragging his shirt back on. Cringing at the pain in his shoulder as it began to heal. "Not until those bastards undo what they did to me, put me back the way I was."

"Sure. Just explain to the nice scientist guys that you miss killing and torturing innocents." Xander scoffed sarcastically.

"You think that would work?"

Xander rolled his eyes.

"Spike, Lord knows why I'm telling you this. It's for your own good. As long as the Initiative is in operation it's not _safe _for you here." Giles insisted, removing his glasses. "

"No. It's not safe for any of us." Buffy suddenly announced from the doorway.

Giles turned around, his face paling as he rushed over to her. "What happened?"

Buffy smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.

"Buffy?" Giles murmured with concern.

"I'm fine." she whispered, pulling back. "Maggie tried to kill me." she announced matter-of-factly.

"What?" Willow frowned disbelievingly. "She….no."

"Afraid so Will. She sent me down into the sewers with a blasto gun…" She pulled back more from Giles, walking further into the room. "and the next thing I know, it's raining monsters."

"Hallelujah." Xander murmured.

"And then this gate slams down behind me and I try to use the gun but it goes phtt in my hands."

"I can't believe it." Willow murmured, shaking her head.

"She set you up?" Giles frowned.

"Because I was getting too close." Buffy nodded. "The thing is, I haven't learnt anything. Whatever she's hiding I didn't find it."

"But she must have realised you were looking." Giles said, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

"I have to hand it to you Red…." Spike scoffed, glancing over at the teenager. "…you'd got a bleeding tragic taste in men. I got a cousin married to a regurgitating Frovalox demon that's got better instincts that you."

"What does her taste in men got to do with anything?" Buffy asked defensively. Even as she already knew the answer. She'd been thinking it too.

"You think Riley was out knitting bootees for their offspring while Maggie was stringing you up?"

Willow frowned, shaking her head. "No. No Riley wouldn't….No!" she glanced around at her friends. "You guys really think Riley had something to do with this?" Willow snapped, shooting to her feet. "Buffy?"

The slayer looked pitifully.

"He probably didn't…." Giles said quickly, trying to ease his young friend's fears. "But, um….we'd be remiss if we didn't think of all the possibilities."

"No, your wrong." Willow insisted. "You just don't like him because he's one of them."

"Willow…" Buffy sighed. "You know that's not true. You know I like Riley but…"

"He wouldn't tell a white lie, let alone a whole bunch of big, dirty ones."

"Will, he spent months lying to you guys." Xander said firmly.

"That….that was different…" she replied, flustered. "…that was his job…."

"So was this." Spike pointed out.

"All I know is that Maggie has it in for me, which means the Initiative had it in for me."

"And I'm guessing the mad scientist isn't too keen on the fact that the entire Scooby Gang knows that the Initiative is up to no good."

"Which brings us back to the not safe for any of us concept."

Willow slumped down into her seat. Numb and shocked as Buffy rushed over to the weapon's chest, throwing the lid open.

"Okay, everybody grab a weapon. We've gotta move."

"And storm the Initiative? Yeah, let's take on those suckers." Xander cheered, taking the axe from Buffy.

"I was thinking more that we'd hide."

"Oh, thank God." Xander sighed with relief.

Buffy nodded with a small smile before turning to the others. "Giles? Get Sam."

"Buffy, I think perhaps we should talk about this?" Giles frowned.

"We need to relocated some place we're less likely to be found. We need a plan."

"We could go to my place." Willow announced without really thinking.

Buffy looked at her sadly. "Will, pretty sure they'd….Riley."

"Right." Willow flushed, dropping her head.

"Xander, what about your basement? The guys haven't seen us together much, and there's room."

"Cool. Come on down and boogie at Xander's hideaway." Xander grinned enthusiastically.

"Yes. Come boogie." Anya grumbled.

"Absolutely not." Giles snapped. "I will not take my son to squat in that dank hole."

"What? It was good enough for me but you're about it all?" Spike spat.

"Precisely."

"Giles." Buffy sighed, strolling into his personal space. "We can't stay here."

His protests died beneath the pure fear and worry in her eyes.

"For Sam."

Giles opened his mouth to agree when the door flew open.

"Buffy?"

"Riley?" Willow gasped, leaping to her feet and rushing over to him.

"Hey." he hugged her, his gaze never leaving the slayer. "Are you OK? I…what happened?"

"You know?" Willow frowned, pulling out of his embrace.

Riley looked down at her suddenly distance. "I know something went down. - Tell me."

"Maggie tried to kill me." Buffy stated from across the room.

Riley looked from the slayer to his girlfriend and back again. Disbelief printed all over his face.

"It didn't work, but they're all upset anyway." Anya informed him.

"OK, listen. I need you to go over everything. Step by Step. There has to be some kind of mistake."

"There was no _mistake_." Buffy said sharply, her arms folded over her chest.

"And how do you know something happened?" Xander asked angrily.

Riley met the man's gaze. "I was on a mission. But I came back and…" he looked back at Buffy, then to Willow. "…I'm not sure. Look, let's just keep out heads and not jump to any conclusions."

"Conclusions?" Buffy frowned. "I was there. I know what happened." she snapped angrily.

Riley glanced around the group, taking in all there furious glares. Even Willows. Then he froze, taking a step back.

"What?" Willow asked, following his line of sight to Spike.

"That's Hostile 17."

"No." Spike said, once again using his bad accent. "I'm just a friend of Xander's. Buffer it. I'm your guy."

"This is Spike." Willow said quickly, trying to defuse the situation. "He's, um….It's a long story but he's not bad anymore."

"Hey. Watch it Red!" Spike snapped, getting up from his place on the stairs. What am I? A bleedin' broken record? I'm bad! It's just…I can't bite any more. Thanks to your wanker of a boyfriend."

Riley glared at him for a second before turning on Willow. "We've been looking all over town for him but you've know where he's been all this time?" he said furiously.

"It's not like that." Willow said quietly, flushing as she felt her friend's eyes on them.

"Really? What is it like? What's he doing here?"

"Leaving you swats to your dramatics thanks. - I've got my stories on the telly for that. By the by, if you're trying to kill her…" Spike grinned ridiculously, giving him two thumbs up, before pulling his coat over his head and running out of the door.

Riley clenched his jaw, turning away from a clearly upset Willow to glare at the slayer. "Buffy, what is this? You're hiding a HST?" his voice was eerily calm.

"Why don't you just back off and let her ask the questions, Jack" Xander snapped, his anger increasing by the second. "Your boss just tried to make monster food outta her."

Buffy straightened her back. "And taking it out on Will isn't winning you brownie points either." she told him coldly.

Riley deflated as he glanced over to where Willow was sat on a box looking miserably at her feet. "I…I didn't see much. I wasn't there." he exhaled slowly and walked back over to Willow, dropping down next to her. "All I know is Professor Walsh told me you were dead." Riley informed them, meeting the slayer's gaze. "Then I saw you on the monitors…" he groaned, leaning forward on his knees, his head in his hands. "This isn't Professor Walsh. There must be something making her act this way." he insisted, looking up at Willow. "Something - I don't know - controlling her."

"We think Buffy may have been becoming too inquisitive." Giles finally spoke from where he'd positioned himself between Riley and the back of the house, where Sam's room was. "That…she was getting close to something that Professor Walsh was trying to hide. Any idea what that might be?"

"What about 314?" Buffy added.

Riley shook his head. "Maybe…." he leapt to his feet. "Maybe she was trying to test you. What if it was only a drill?"

Buffy exhaled warily. "It wasn't a drill. - Why did she tell you I was dead, if it was a test?"

Riley began to pace, his hand scratching at his head.

"I've heard rumours that the Initiative isn't all that we've been told." Giles said, watching the younger man cautiously. "That secretly they're working towards some darker purpose. Something that might harm us all."

Riley spun to glare at the him. "What? No! That's…that's not what happens there." he snapped. "I would know!"

"No one is sure. We're just trying to sort it out." Willow said, leaping up to joint him. Her hands on his arms. "Right?" she said looked at Buffy and Giles. "

"I can't be here." Riley snapped suddenly, shaking off Willow's hands. "I can't be around you." he pushed past her, rushing for the door.

"Riley?"

"I'll sort it out on my own!" he snapped over his shoulder as he yanked the door open and marched through it.

Buffy turned to stare at her best friend as Willow collapsed down onto the armchair behind her, tears pooling in her eyes.

**~Don't Lie~**

Staying in Xander's basement turned out to be more difficult than Buffy thought. The only upside was that Sam seemed to be at ease. He laid on the fold out bed across Buffy's, Willow and Anya's legs staring up at the light reflected off the glitter ball. Buffy glanced off to the side to Willow. She'd been down ever since Riley had stormed out. She hated seeing her best friend so down, especially after everything she'd gone through with Oz.

"You OK?"

"Fine." Willow murmured.

"He'll come round." Buffy said, trying to sound convincing and supportive. "He's just confused."

"Do you really think he was in on it?" Willow asked, turning pained red-rimmed eyes on her.

Buffy swallowed. "No."

Willow looked at her friend unconvincingly. "You do, don't you?"

"Will, I don't know what to think. This whole thing is a mess."

The red head nodded.

"Must we have the noise?" Giles groaned, stepping out from behind the bed sheet curtain they'd put up the previous night. "My head is splitting."

Buffy smiled softly at him.

"Look who's a cranky bear in the morning." Willow murmured, glancing at Buffy, who laughed.

"Yes, I can't imagine why I didn't sleep well in my breach ball." Giles grumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Oh." Buffy pouted. "Poor baby. Sammy, I think daddy is going to need you pacifier." she chuckled, throwing back the covers and climbing out of the bed to walk over to him. Reaching up to rub at his neck.

"Every time you moved, it made squeaky noises. It was irritating." Anya informed him.

"Really? I'm surprised you could hear it over your Wagnerian snoring."

"Seriously?" Buffy looked between Giles and Anya. "Anyone would think that you were the couple." she laughed, her hands still warning out the tight knots of Giles neck.

Giles glared down at her with a disgusted face that Anya swiftly mirrored.

"Better?" she asked softly, staring up at her boyfriend.

"Yes, thank you." he exhaled slowly, wrapping his arm around the slayer preparing to pull her into a morning kiss.

Buffy shook her head and flushed, looking over to her friends and feeling her stomach plunge at the agonising look on Willow's face. "It'll be OK, Will. Riley's just confused that's all."

Willow forced her eyes up to her friend. "I don't know.

"Turn on the TV. Now!"

Everyone's head snapped to stare at Xander. "TV. Now."

Buffy let go of Giles and reached for the television.

_ "Sunnydale is still reeling from the news of the crime. A source in the coroner's office tells us that the boy was stabbed with what looks like some kind of large skewer, and his body was then mutilated. Police have not named a suspect, and the killer is still at large."_

Buffy's head snapped around to stare at Giles. "The Polgara demon we brought in two days ago had a skewer in its arm. Maggie insisted we bring it back alive."

"She must have sent it after you." Giles murmured.

"And it got distracted. God!" Buffy winced, her eyes falling on Sam. She stepped forward, lifting the little boy off the bed and holding him tight to her chest.

"Buffy, it's not your fault. How could you know?" Willow said firmly.

"She's right. You mustn't blame yourself." he said, stepping up to her back. His hands on her shoulders, squeezing them.

Buffy pressed her lips to her son's head, her stomach tying itself in knots, fury flooding her at just what Maggie Walsh and the Initiative had done. A small boy's blood was on their hands and she was going to make sure they paid. - Them and the monster that they'd released into the world. "I'm not going to. I'm going to the crime scene to see what I can find out. You guys researched the Polgara demon. I wanna know where it is. I'm going to make him pay for taking that kid's life. I'll make him die in ways he can't even imagine."

Giles pressed his lips to the back of her head, humming agreement.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy watched from a distance as the corner carefully carried the body of the murdered boy out from the surrounded forest. She hadn't been able to shake the fury in her. She was going to make Walsh pay for this, no matter what it took.

"Buffy."

She spun around to meet Riley. "Hey." she smiled tensely. As much as she was still furious with the Initiative and Riley, she wanted Willow to feel happy more, and Riley had made Will happy for the first time in months. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I know that everyone came on pretty strong. - And the Spike thing isn't as tweaked as it looked."

Riley stared at her, his jaw tight and his back straight, disbelieving.

"Ok, maybe it is. But there's an explanation that almost makes sense." Buffy insisted, trying to control her frustration. "Hello? I'm apologizing here. And I think that's pretty big of me, considering I'm the one who was almost made a demon sandwich." she snapped. "This is the part where you throw me a bone."

"Maggie's dead." Riley announced coldly. "Happy now."

Buffy's eyes widened with surprise as she took what he said in. She wasn't sure how she felt about the news, but she could honestly say she wasn't happy. "Of course I'm not happy. - What happened?"

Riley remained cold and distant, looking past her. "That's classified."

"Classified." Buffy scoffed. "The Polgara. It got her and escaped, didn't it? - Well, I'm gonna find it and destroy it because that's my job. _Mine_. I was born to do this. I wasn't trained." she snapped; angry at Riley attitude. She marching off past him, not bothering to look back.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy strolled into Willy's Place and inhaled the air of familiarity. The demons that frequented the place all dropped their gazes, either from fear or respect. This was how it worked. Mutual fear and loathing. Not even demon, monster….vampire was a threat. Not everything that went bump in the night was out to kill and maim. Some demons were just out to live their lives in peace. And the one law they answered to was the slayer.

Buffy smiled at Willy as she leant over the bar.

"You're killin' me here."

"Missed you, too. The joint's jumpin'." Buffy took another glance around, locking gazes with the demon beside her, who swiftly got to his feet and rushed away with his drink.

"You know. I'm making some changes with my life." Willy announced drawing the slayers attention back to him. "I'm getting away from my old image."

Buffy raised a brow and smirked. "As a double-dealing snitch?"

"You think I'm blowing smoke but after those apocalypse demons nearly did me in, I had a spiritual experience."

The slayer bit back a laugh. "That's well. But have you heard anything about a Polgara demon doing some killings?" she finished sombrely.

"See, that's the thing. I don't talk behind people's backs no more." Willy said, smiled nervously down the bar. "And I'm bringing some class to the joint. It's Willy's Place. Brings in a better clientele. I got one of those deep fryers. These demons just go crazy for chicken fingers. If they see me dealing with you, I'm just the same Willy, working both sides of the street."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna have to punch you, aren't I."

"Just once. And it don't have to hurt."

Buffy straightened, drawing her fist back.

"Ow!" Willy flinched.

"I haven't even hit you yet."

"Right. Sorry. Ok. Wait. No. I can't talke to yo…." Willy barely finished before Buffy was slamming her closed fish into his face. "Ow! Ow!" he cried, clutching his nose.

"What have you heard about the Polgara?"

"Heard there was one around a week or two back. Word was you got him. You and those army guys." Willy winced, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Buffy clenched her jaw. "And that was the last you heard?"

"Yeah. As far as I know, he'd off the streets."

"What about those army guys? You heard anything about 314?"

Willy frowned up at her with confusion, before movement at the door drew both of their gazes. Buffy inhaled slowly as Riley stepped inside. Giving Willy a reassuring smile she pushed herself off the bar and made her way over to meet the solider.

"What are you doing here? Following me?" She demanded.

Riley glared at her accusingly. "You told me you were tracking the Polgara demon. I thought I'd help. - But I see now, you're not hunting demons, you're socializing with them. - Again."

Buffy tightened her jaw, folding her arms over her chest. She was becoming really tired of his tunnel vision. "Smooth, Officer Riley. They teach you those undercover moves in Special Forces?"

"I'm serious. What are you doing here?" Riley snapped, his face glistening with a thin layer of sweat in the dim lights.

"Just coolin' her dog. Like the rest of us. Why don't you sit down. Relax?" Willy said quickly, clearly concerned that violence was about to break out. Rightly so.

"I want you to tell me. Who are you?" Riley demanded, ignoring Willy and grabbing Buffy's biceps hard. His eyes wild and unfocused.

"How about some chicken fingers on the house?" Willy said nervously.

Riley head snapped around, his eyes narrow. His hands tightening on Buffy's arms. "Shut up."

"I'm just saying." Willy shrugged.

"I said shut up!" Riley yelled. "Or maybe you'd like to go back to the lab with me. I'm sure the coats would love to classify a….whatever you are!"

The slayer shoved at his chest, breaking his hold on her. "Get off me! - Leave him alone. He's human!"

Riley looked from Buffy to Willy, disgust written all over his face. "So he's human. He just harbours demons. Which makes him a good guy like you?"

Buffy watched the solider with growing concern. His face was growing damper by the second and his was practically vibrating out of his uniform. It was the wild, furious look in his eyes that concerned her the most though. She's seen that look before and it was never a good sign. When he grabbed her again, it took all her self control not to break his arm.

"The truth Buffy! Now!"

"You have it." she said surprisingly calmly. "You are just too screwed up because of what happened to Walsh to see it."

"Hold it! You!" Riley yelled, his hand leaving Buffy to reach for his weapon, aiming it at a woman trying to leave.

Buffy held her breath, looking from him to the poor bystander. Demon or no, she wasn't a threat at that moment.

"No leaving till I say so. Got it?" Riley shouted, his hand shaking.

"Hey. Hey, we got new rules here. No killing." Willy said firmly.

"Right, except the rules don't seem to apply much these days, do they?" Riley replied frantically. "Like if I shot you right now…" he turned back to the poor trembling woman. "I don't know if I'd have a corpse on my hands or one really pissed off vampire."

"Riley." Buffy said gently, taking a step towards him.

"I mean, who do you believe? First it sounds like lies, then it sounds like truth."

Buffy took a deep breath. "Riley."

Glass scattered the floor as Riley swung him arm into the bar, knocking bottles and glass aside, his head dropped as he fought to catch his breath. "What's happening to me." he murmured brokenly.

Buffy stared at him, unable to answer that question but already sure it had something to do with Maggie and whatever 314 was.

**~Don't Lie~**

She's gotten Riley back to the basement with little fuss. The fight had seemed to have completely left the soldier. Willow's reaction upon seeing him was almost heartbreaking. She's rushed to meet them at the stairs, throwing her arms around him before guiding him cautiously to the bed. Buffy left her to calm him. Pausing at the curtain before turning away and facing her friends.

"What happened?" Giles asked quietly.

Buffy exhaled slowly, shrugging out of her jacket. "I don't know. I was at Willy's getting information, he followed me and them flipped out. He's a mess and it's not just grief making him act this way. - Something's affecting him physically and it's getting worse."

"You think Walsh did something to him?" Anya asked.

Buffy meet the ex-demon's gaze. "I don't know, but I'm ready to find out." she replied firmly, irritation, anger and frustration clear in her tone.

"Tough, with Maggie's deadness and all." Xander said sarcastically.

"She must have kept records somewhere. About Riley. About 314. About all of it. And she wasn't the only person that knew what she was up to."

"So what's the plan?" Xander asked.

"Xander, you and I are going undercover."

"No. No Xander. Not in a boyfriend way. Or a lead him into certain death way." Anya snapped, glaring at the slayer.

"He's the only one with military experience."

"It's not like he was in Nam. He was a G.I Joe for one night!"

"It's okay, Anya. I've backed up Buffy before."

"Can't you do something else to help them like Xerox hand-outs or something."

"I'll be careful."

Buffy turned away from the pair to meet Giles worried gaze. She closed the gap between them.

"How do you plan to get into the Initiative?" Giles asked quietly, his hands automatically going to her shoulders. "I'm sure their security system's impenetrable."

Buffy smiled up at him reassuringly. "I have my clearance. I'm just hoping she didn't have time to revoke it."

Giles shook his head. "Well…as for the whereabouts of this Polgara demon. I'm afraid we've not turned up much." he dropped his hands and turned to his books. "No reports since its originally capture."

Buffy sighed, squeezing his arms gently, pulling his attention back to her. "Keep looking."

Giles nodded.

"Xander?" Buffy turned back to her friend. "Ready?"

"Ma'am." he saluted.

Buffy rolled her eyes, turning back to Giles and pressing a kiss to his lips. "I won't be long." she spared a glance at Sam, who was in his play pen with a couple of Xander's old toys. Then she turned and headed for the stairs, Xander at her heels.

**~Don't Lie~**

It didn't take Buffy and Xander long to find what they where looking for. Or more precisely it found them. Apparently Maggie was working on her own pet project. One that not only involved doping Riley and his unit but also playing Frankenstein. Creating a part human, part demon, part machine monster that was apparently having something of an identity crisis. - big surprise on that one. - It turns out that in its need to understand what it was it was directing ten year old boys.

Adam - because Maggie was original in her naming process. - had informed her, Xander, Riley and Maggie's assistant all about what the woman had been planning. That Riley was meant to become some kind of super solider in the fight against evil.

Riley obviously hadn't taken this news all that well, which was how he'd ended up injured, having attacked the thing and gotten skewered with the Polgara spike. Buffy's fight had gone a little better. She hadn't been shish kebabed, so she marked that as a win. But Adam had gotten away and of course that was when Forrest had broken in and all but accused her of killing the doctor. If it wasn't for Riley she'd probably be in one of the Initiative cells awaiting reprogramming or whatever. As it was she and Xander were shown out of the base, while Riley was taken away by his men.

"He's okay. He's alive. - Will, we'll get him back. I swear." Buffy said desperately, hating the agonised look in her best friend's eyes. But what made her heart tightened was the belief she saw there too.

* * *

**A/N: I hated the way Maggie and the others were so dismissive and disrespectful of the Slayer line and what Buffy did. But more than anything I hated that Buffy just took it. I mean I honestly think that the only reason she let them get away with it was because of her relationship with Riley. Like having to get along with your in-law and smile why they insult you because you don't want to upset your partner. So I decided that if she wasn't with Riley, she wouldn't take their shit the way she did. **

**And once again the reappearence of Xander's ridiculous solider memory. Seriously how many times must we go through how stupid this is?**

**While writing this I found myself wondering, how does Willow (and Buffy) get from the college to Giles house to quickly? I mean they get a phone call and then their there. Which wouldn't be a problem, but I didn't think the school was so close, seeing as we hadn't heard or seen anything of it for the first three years. **


	13. In Her Shoes

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**This Years Girl & Who Are You.**

**Sorry there's such a large gap between posts. I'm being attacked by the enemy known as Writers Block. I'll try to get another chapter up soon. Fingers Crossed. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy. **

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

**In Her Shoes**

_ Buffy tugged on the fresh white sheet. Her hand sliding over the fabric slowly. "They smell good, don't they?" she murmured, glancing up through her lashes. _

"_What?"_

"_Clean sheets. Like summer." _

"_I wouldn't know." Faith replied from the other sides of the bed. _

"_Right. I forgot."_

"_I noticed."_

"_I wish I could stay, but…"_

"_No, you have to go." _

"_It's just with…."_

"_Little sis coming. I know. So much to do before she gets here."_

"_Now I really have to…."_

"_So go. Don't let me keep….damn!" Faith moaned, glancing down at the bed sheets. "Just when we made it so nice. Are you ever gonna take this thing out?"_

_Buffy glanced down at her hand, the knife still gripped tightly in her palm. The end buried deep insider the other slayer. _

"Buffy? _Buffy_?"

Buffy shot up in bed, her heart pounding and sweat clinging to her forehead.

Giles frowned. "Are you alright? Buffy?"

"I'm fine." she panted, pressing her hand to her chest. "Just a bad dream."

"Are you sure? What was…?"

Buffy glanced across to Giles, his eyes overshadowed with concern. "It was nothing. Probably just the stress of Adam and the Initiative." she smiled reassuringly. "I'm just going to get some water." she threw back the covers and padded barefoot to the stairs, aware the whole time that Giles was watching her.

She sipped at the cool water, her heart slowly regaining its normal rhythm. She hadn't thought about Faith in months. Not since she'd put her in that coma in the first place. And as much as she knew Faith had deserved everything that had happened to her, she couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. They were sisters after all, if not by blood by legacy. She shouldn't have just forgotten about her. Turning to head back up to bed she caught sight of the phone. Frowning, her eyes raised to the loft for a few moments before she put the glass down and picked up the receiver, dialling the number for the hospital.

_ "Hello. Sunnydale Hospital. How may I help you?"_

"Hi, I was just wondering if you could tell me how Faith Lehane is."

"_I'm afraid I can't give out that….."_

"I'm her sister."

There was a long silence.

"_I'm afraid her condition is unchanged." _

"Oh. Thank you." Buffy hung up and rested on the edge of the desk, a weight suddenly lifting off her shoulders. She didn't know what she'd been so scared off? Maybe she'd expected the hospital to tell her that she was awake. And how horrible was it of her to be glad she wasn't.

"Buffy?" Giles announced from the stairs.

She turned with a start.

"Are you alright?"

Buffy smiled reassuringly, this time a genuine smile as she straightened and headed back towards the stairs. Pausing in front of her lover she reached out of him, pressing her palm to his cheek, and guiding his mouth down to hers. Giles hands slipping smoothing around her waist, beneath the oversized t-shirt she wore. The gentle kiss quickly turned passionate as Giles lifted her off her feet and carried her back to the bed. Ending all thoughts and worries about Faith.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy threw herself down on the couch warily, her head rolling back against the cushions and her eyes closed. She listened to the movement around her. Willow and Xander talking about the 'blaster' they'd 'requisitioned' from the Initiative. Sam babbling from the floor not that far away from her. He'd been getting closer and closer to actually forming words over the past few days, they were all pretty sure it wouldn't be long before he was talking and then they'd all have to start watching what they were saying. Movement behind her told her Giles was walking towards her and she cracked one eye open as he lowered himself of the couch beside her, that frown of concern imprinted on his face once again. He didn't say anything though; he just turned his attention to folding the washing.

Buffy let her breathing lure into a sense of piece that was broken when Xander apparently electrocuted himself.

"Shi….shouldn't have done that." Xander said, glancing at Sam who was staring at him with a wide grin and a gurgle of laughter. "Thanks little man. Really."

Buffy straightened reluctantly and inhaled a breath. "No luck?"

"None." Willow shook her head regretfully. Though the sadness in her eyes had little to do with their lack of progress and more to do with her missing boyfriend. Though he wasn't so much missing, they knew exactly where he was, she just wasn't able to see him.

Buffy hated seeing Willow like that, but at least she was dealing with it better this time than she was when Oz vanished. There was no wacky spells that had her making out with her worst enemy. And there was always the hope that at some point Riley would be back. Though Buffy couldn't help but wonder if that was really a good thing.

"You alright?" Giles quiet voice broke into her thoughts. "You've been patrolling round the clock for three days straight. Perhaps you could use some…"

"What?" Buffy met his gaze. "Some rest? There's a demonoid killing machine out there that doesn't only work the night shift."

"I was going to say perhaps you could use some backup. But now you mention it….you haven't…." he glanced over his shoulder at the others. "….slept since the night you came back from the Initiative. And then you had that nightmare."

Buffy looked at him intensely, shifting closer.

"Gathering your strength might not be a bad idea." Giles added as Buffy pressed into his side.

Buffy smiled softly up at him, snuggling even closer, silently asking for his comfort. Giles returned her smile, dropped the washing he'd been folding and leant back into the couch, his arm raising to wrap around Buffy's.

"Just get the blaster working…." she murmured sleepily.

Giles pressed a kiss to her forehead as her eyes drifted closed.

**~Don't Lie~**

"You heading out?" Giles asked as he feed Sam his nightly meal.

"Yeah." Buffy nodded, shrugging into her white leopard print coat. "And don't worry; Will and Xander are coming with."

Giles nodded. "Just be careful alright."

Buffy smiled down lovingly at him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I'll be home in a few hours. I promise." she whispered against his skin. She strolled around his chair to kiss Sam too. "See you later Sammy."

**~Don't Lie~**

"I've never seen anything like that." Buffy murmured pacing back and forth, her stomach still rolling at the memory of the strung up and dissected demon.

"And I can go a long, health stretch without seeing anything like that again." Xander grumbled from the couch beside Willow.

"And you're sure it was Adam?" Giles frowned, watching her from the doorway. His shoulder pressed against the wall.

"It had to be."

"But why?" Xander frowned.

"He's studying biology." Buffy answered. "Human, demon, whatever he can get his hands on."

"Leaning what make things work." Willow nodded.

"I don't wanna be around for the final exam." Xander shuddered.

"It's not coming to that. The Initiative created this and they can't stop it. But we will."

Xander twisted in his seat. "Question. Will hiding in a cabin with stockpiles chocolates be part of this plan?"

Buffy met his gaze. "No."

"Told you." he whispered to Willow.

"So what's first?" Giles asked, pushing himself off the wall.

"Riley."

Willow straightened. "What?"

"If anyone's going to know how to get information, it's him. Which means we need to get him out of there." Buffy stated.

"Buffy how are you….?" Giles frowned.

"Will, I need you to hack into the security mainframe and buy me a ten minutes shutdown of the systems…"

"That could be…"

"Tricky. Not Impossible."

"But highly illegal."

Everyone spun to star at the door.

"Riley!" Willow gasped, scrambling off the couch and running over to him. Wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Ohhh!" he grunted, wincing at the pain.

"God. I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No, a giant skewer through the ribcage hurt me. That' was just a reminder." he smiled down at her, his fingers brushing though her short red hair.

"How'd you get out?" Willow asked softly.

"I walked."

"And they just let you go?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

"No. But I told them they couldn't keep me without a major ass-kicking, one way or another. So here I am." he pulled Willow tighter to his side, ignoring the pain. "I'm sorry about…." he flushed guiltily. "…I wasn't myself."

"Forget it. - Tell you what, you help Buffy take down an unstoppable killer-cyborg-demon hybrid thingy and well call it even."

"Just like that?" Riley raised a brow at her.

"Well, I suppose Chocolates and….grovelling wouldn't heart." she flushed.

Riley pressed a kiss to her lips. "Deal. - So what do we have?"

Buffy glanced over at Giles as Willow lead Riley to the couch. Both uncertain.

"Take down Adam will be tough. There's no way to predict what he'll throw at us." Riley stated as he settled between Xander and Willow.

"I think we could do with some tea."

Buffy followed him into the kitchen. "What do you think?" she whispered, glancing out into the lounge.

"About?"

Buffy raised a brow. "Duh." she waved her hand at couch. "You don't think it's weird they just let him go?"

Giles frowned over her shoulder. "You think he's lying?"

"I don't know." she shook her head. "I just….I just can't trust anything that comes out of that place anymore."

"You wanted his help a few moments ago. You were willing to break in to get him out."

"Yeah, that was when I thought he was being held there. But them just letting him walk out; it just….it doesn't sit right."

Giles sighed, taking a few steps into Buffy's personal space. "I know what happened with Riley and Maggie Walsh had kinda shaken your trust in people, but we can't assume that just because we didn't have to rescue him that he's some how working against us. - Realistically they would have let him go eventually."

Buffy chewed her lower lip, glancing over her shoulder once more. "Well, I'm going to be keeping a close eye on him from now on. I just….I don't Willow get hurt any more."

Giles pressed a kiss to her forehead as the kettle whispered.

Buffy headed back out into the living room while Giles finished preparing the tea, taking a seat on the armchair. A few minutes later he strolled out with a tray, setting it on the coffee table. Buffy got up to let him sit before placing herself into his lap.

"The puzzle is why Adam had stayed dormant this long?" Giles asked, one arm around Buffy's waist, the other gripping his mug.

"When he's not making performance art out of other demons." Willow shuddered, causing Riley to wrap an arm tighter around her shoulders.

"He's probably working off an autonomic power source. Because he's straight out of the box, he needs to charge up." Riley informed them.

"Ok. What's he charging up for?" Buffy quizzed, settling deeper into Giles embrace.

"Based on the clues, I'll go with killing spree." Xander replied.

Riley turned his head to the side to meet the other man's gaze. "And that's a best-case scenario."

Xander's face suddenly looked pinched. "Great."

Riley waved his arm at the blaster that was still resting on the coffee table from earlier that morning. Xander lent forward and grabbed it. Handing it over to him.

"I suppose a little fire power would be a good idea right now." he mumbled, fiddling with the switches as Xander watched him like a hawk, as the weapon activated.

"Hey! How'd you do that?"

Riley smiled at him.

"Is there an on/off button?" Xander asked, snatching the weapon from his hand.

"Blasters are easy. Adam won't be."

"Since Professor Walsh designed it, any chance she left instructions lying around?" Giles asked with a frown.

"If she did, they'll be in the Initiative." Buffy sighed.

"Which we can't easily get into." Xander added.

"Speak for yourself." Riley smiled. "I'm just sayin'"

"A man on the inside would be…." Giles said, glancing up at a still concerned Buffy.

"A really good idea." Willow finished. "But are you sure you wanna be Double Agent Guy?"

"I think we might want to come up with a better code name…." he grinned warmly. "But yeah. I'll share information. It's the least I can do."

"Riley's right…" Xander murmured, still playing with the blaster. "It is the least he can do."

The sudden ringing of a phone brought the whole conversation to a halt as Giles wiggled out from beneath Buffy to answer the phone.

"Hello? - Yes, she is. - It's for you." waving the phone at Buffy.

Buffy scrambled out of her seat and rushed for the phone. "Hello? Speaking."

Her stomach dropped at the doctors words. A sick feeling rolling over her insides like a tidal wave. She should have known those dreams weren't stress, that they were a warning. She should have told Giles days ago. "No. I haven't. Thank you. I'll let you know." she hung up the phone with a world heavy weight on her shoulders. Her heart already beginning to pound in her chest.

"What is it?" Giles asked, his voice ringing with concern.

"It's Faith. - She's awake."

The whole room fell impossibly silent until Buffy turned to face them.

"She beat someone up, took her clothes and disappeared out of the hospital. No one knows where she is."

"I'd say this qualifies for the 'worst timing ever' award." Xander huffed, slouching into the couch.

"What do we do?" Willow asked, peering over the back of the couch.

"Well, we have to find her." Giles replied warily.

"What about Adam?"

"I'd hate the pursuit of a homicidal lunatic to get in the way of pursuing a homicidal lunatic." Xander grumbled sarcastically.

"Fait's not exactly Low Profile Girl. I'll patrol and wait for her to make a move."

"But then what?" Xander asked desperately.

"Ooo!" I have an idea. Beat the crap out of her."

Riley frowned at the sudden violent turn in his usually peaceful girlfriend. Who shrugged.

"Good plan!" Xander nodded.

"Good on paper. But we still have a decision to make. Do we hand her over to the cops? They wouldn't know what to do with a slayer, even if they knew we existed."

"What about the council?" Willow put forward.

"Been there. Tried that." Xander sighed. "Not unlike smothering a forest fire with napalm, as I recall."

"Well, the initiative had containment facilities."

"One word: Evil!"

"Hey!" Riley snapped defensively.

"Sorry bro but…"

"there's no way around it." Buffy interrupted. "Faith's back and whether I like it or not, she's my responsibility." Buffy slumped against the desk.

Giles closed the gap between them, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Too bad." Willow sighed. "That was the funniest coma ever."

Everyone fell silent as the weight of the revelation settled over them like a suffocating blanket.

"Huh…One question." Riley said cautiously. "Who's Faith?"

Willow looked from Buffy to Riley. "Walk me back to the dorm, and I'll explain everything."

"Be careful." Buffy said as Willow, Riley and Xander all got to their feet. "We have no idea where she is. We don't know what she's thinking, what she's feeling…."

"Who she's doing." Xander mumbled under his breath.

"And as much as I'd like to hope that she's won't remember any of it. Or that she's had a change of…."

"Personality?"

"Just watch out okay." Buffy insisted.

"See you tomorrow for class?" Willow asked as they reached the door.

"Yeah. Night guys."

As the door closed Buffy released a long tired sigh and walked heavily to the couch, dropping down into it like she was made of led. Closing her eyes she let her head drop back.

"You knew."

Buffy cringed at Giles accusing words. "No. - I….I was having dreams. I didn't think they were anything. I swear." she opened her eyes to meet his gaze. "I called the hospital, they said she was still out. That there was no change. I just figured it was all this Adam stuff bring up past….mistakes."

Giles nodded sympathetically, wrapping his arm around her once more. "She'll come after you, you know that?"

"I know."

"Are you ready for this?"

"I don't have much choice do I. She won't just get on a plane and vanish. I tried to kill her, I'm pretty sure she's not going to forgive me for that one."

The pair fell silent as the memory of those events replayed themselves.

"At least she doesn't know about us."

**~Don't Lie~**

"Are you alright?" Giles asked, sitting on the edge of the coffee table.

"I'm fine." Buffy insisted, absently rubbing at her jaw, remembering the right hook Faith had delivered in the quad.

Giles rubbed at the bridge off his nose, his glasses lying forgotten next to his leg. "I can't believe she confronted you." he sighed. "I would have thought she'd lay low."

"What can I say, she never was the smart one." Buffy sighed. "Oh, and she knows about us, by the way."

"What?" Giles snapped up to stare at her. "How?"

Buffy shrugged. "At least Will's fine. - I sent her back to her dorm."

Giles nodded. "I should probably call the council. - And Xander."

Buffy rolled her lips. "I'll drop by mom's. Let her know what's going on. Knowing Faith she'll probably go there next."

Giles ran his fingers through her hair. "Are you sure your alright?"

"Its just…..she said some things that…kinda hit home, I guess. - I tried to kill her Giles."

"Buffy." he sighed, moving from the coffee table to her side, his hand resting on her knee.

"No. How am I any better than her?"

"Because you are. She left you know choice."

Buffy shook her head disbelievingly. "Didn't she? - I could have let him die." she murmured.

"No you couldn't." Giles replied in a rough, almost choked voice. "Anymore than you would have let any of us die."

Buffy stared at him for a long moment, unable to voice the torrent of emotions rushing though her. "I better go." she leapt to her feet.

"I'll call Xander. We hit the streets, see if we can find her."

Buffy nodded, her gaze flickering over to the floor where Sam sat playing. "Take Sam to Willow."

Giles nodded.

They stood staring at each other silently for a few moments before Buffy turned to walk out of the apartment. The heavy weight of Faith's words on her shoulders. _"You're still the same old better than thou Buffy. I knew it. I kept having this dream, I'm not sure what it means. But in the dream this self righteous blonde chick stabs me. And you wanna know why?….she does it for a guy…..I wake up to find that this blonde chick isn't even dating the guy she was so nuts about. No, she's moved on. And to who, you may ask. To her self righteous old watcher. Really, I should have seen that one. I mean, thinking back its pretty obvious really. - So tell me B. Is he good in the sake? I better he is. All that pent up British-ness. Man, I bet he can go for hours huh?" _

Buffy clenched her jaw, leaning against the wall to the complex, breathing deeply. _"Maybe I'll drop by a reacquaint myself." _she flexed her fingers, remembering how good it had felt to thrust her knuckles into the side of Faith's jaw.

**~Don't Lie~**

Her vision was still blurry and her head was pounding as the EMT rolled her out of the house. She didn't know what Faith had shocked her with but his was still buzzing through her, making her feel wrong. There was something off with her body. It didn't feel right. It wasn't until she was being rolled past her mom that she knew why. - Because this wasn't her body. As hard as it was to understand, she wasn't in her own body anymore. Because she was looking at herself thought blurred vision. Her own lips smiling back at her. Faith.

"Buffy!"

"Giles." she grumbled as the weakness pulled her back into unconsciousness again.

Giles rushed through the crowd of people. "Buffy! - My God, are you alright?" he asked desperately, cupping the blondes face.

"Giles. - I'm fine." she replied.

Giles turned, watching Faith being rolled into the ambulance. "Thanks heavens. - I was so worried."

"Well, you guys'll be safe now. We have a couple of questions in the morning." the detective interrupted.

"Oh, of course." Joyce nodded. "Thank you."

"No. Thank you. Both." the detective nodded with a reassuring smile before heading back to his car.

"What will happen to her now?" Joyce asked.

Giles looked from the Ambulance to Joyce. "That's down to the council. They'll probably pull some strings."

"It's a shame." Joyce shook her head, turning to head back inside as the ambulance pulled away from the house.

Giles wrapped his arm around the blonde's shoulders, pulling her close. "I'm so glad your alright/" he murmured into her hair. "I have no idea what I would have done if…"

Faith looked up at him with Buffy's green eyes. "You thought she'd actually be able to beat me?"

"No. But….you know I always worry. It doesn't matter that I know you'll be fine."

Faith just stared at him for a long while, her eyes searching his.

"Are you alright?"

"I…." she swallowed. "Just tired. It was a hard fight. I think I just need some rest."

"Of course. Let's go home."

"Home?" Faith frowned.

"Yes. - Sam will be wanting goodnight kiss."

"Sam….Right. - Uh….could you….I think I should stay here tonight. With Mom. She's a little shaken after….everything."

Giles started at her. "Right. Yes. Of course. Understandable really. - I'll come get you in the morning."

"Sure. In the morning."

Giles smiled softly at her. Brushing the stray strands of blond hair out of her face, his fingers trailing down her cheek. "Rest. I'll see you tomorrow." he pressed a lingering kiss to her lips.

"Yeah. Night." Faith said awkwardly.

"I love you."

"Yeah." Faith nodded, shaking off Giles hold and heading for the house.

Giles watched her go inside with a deep crease between his brows.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy slowly began to come round. Forcing her eyes open once more she tired to focus, figure out where she was. The last thing she remembered was being put in the back of an ambulance watching herself smiling down at her. She shook her head. Was that real? No. She must have been concussed. She winced as she shifted, her eyes finally taking in the her surroundings, as well as the handcuffs on her wrists. "Faith." she murmured. Where was Faith?

Before she could ask the men in the front of the car, they when straight into a large trust, sending Buffy forward painfully into the grate in front of her. She flinched as the glass beside her was smashed and a balding man in a leather jacket dragged her out of the window of the police vehicle.

"By order of the Watcher's Council, you are being taken into custody until such time…." the balding guy said as he manhandled her away from the cops.

"Skip the speech." another man said.

Her head was aching. And bleeding. She could feel it running warmly down her forehead as the men lifted her into the truck and chained her to the side.

**~Don't Lie~**

She didn't know how long she was out. Her head felt like there was a lead bowling ball rolling around inside it and her stomach was churning in on itself over and over. At least she wasn't moving anymore. Taking a couple of deep breaths she forced her eyes open, but it was still as task. She hadn't felt this out of it and drained since….that time she'd gotten the flu in Junior year. When they'd gone after that Der Kinde-whatever. She rolled her head a little, wincing at the tightness in her neck and raised her hands to touch her head. Only they wouldn't lift. They were being held down. Finally her gaze focused and she found her wrists chained. Then it came back to her, everything she'd thought was just a bad dream. Her fight with Faith. The bright light and then the seconds of recognition before the bitch knocked her out. Then there was the police and the EMT's and then strange English guys dragging her out of the police car.

The worst thing was the image she'd seen just before the ambulance doors were closed on her. Giles, his arms around her. - Faith, her - holding her with that look of relief and worry on his face. Her stomach flipped and her chest tightened. She was with Giles. - Giles didn't know. _Oh God. She's with Sam. _

"Well it's awake." One of the English guys said.

"Who are you"?

"Council. We're taking you back to the mother country. Seems you've been a naughty girl."

"Listen to me. You've made a mistake. I am not Faith. - I'm Buffy Summers. Faith performed some kind of spell. She switched our bodies."

"Congratulations." Another older guy said from beyond the truck doors. "No one's ever tried that one on me before."

"You have to find Faith. - Call Giles! Warning him. Get him here!"

"Giles doesn't work for the council anymore. For that matter, neither does Buffy Summers."

Buffy groaned inwardly. "I know that. But….I swear, I'm her. I'm Buffy."

"What you are, miss, is the package…" the older guy said coldly. "I deliver the package. I don't much care what's inside. - Come on." he ordered the balding one out of the truck.

"He may not care, but I do." Balding one said in a hard threatening tone. "The Watcher's Council used to mean something. You perverted it. You're trash. We should have killed you while you were asleep." he spat. Literally.

"No. Please. I…." she was cut off by the slamming of the truck door.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Buffy?" Giles groaned, squinting into the dark. "I thought you…?"

"Mom's fine. I wanted to see you." Faith murmured seductively, crawling up the bed towards him.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She straddled his hips, yanking at the bottom of the black vest, pulling it off over her head, before leaning down and pressing a punishing hungry kiss to Giles lips.

He pulled back, looking up at her. "Buffy?"

"Shhh." she silenced him with her month, his hands threading into the short hairs at the back of his neck, her body curving into him as her hips ground down.

Giles moaned, his hand reaching out to pull her closer, his tongue slipping into her warm mouth to duel with hers. The kiss was nothing like what they usually shared. It was desperate and hungry, like she was starving for him. He rolled them over, shoving the sheets out of the way.

Faith wrapped her legs around his waist, grinding up into him. Giles fingers biting into her muscled thigh as he tore his mouth away to kiss and bite down her neck. She let out a deep groan of pleasure and dropped one of her hands to his waist before sliding it down beneath his pyjama pants to cup his ass. Squeezing it tight making his hips snap delightfully forward.

She used her slayer strength to rolled them again, pinning Giles beneath her as she devoured his neck, biting and sucking a path down his chest and stomach, before dragging the pants down. She lifted her eyes to smile up at him lecherously before lowering her mouth to cover engulf him. Sucking hard and relentlessly until he was yelling out her name. - Buffy's name.

When she felt him growing close to his release she pulled away with a wet pop, crawling back off the bed. She stood at the end of the bed, Giles eyes watching her every movement as she stripped out of the tight faux-leather pants and panties. Then she climbed back, towering over Giles for a few long seconds before towering herself down, right onto his painfully full erection. The pair of them releasing a deep satisfied moan as she took him in.

"B-uffy." Giles gasped; his fingers biting into her hips as she raised herself up and lowered herself back down slowly, dragging out the pleasure. "God…Buffy." he moaned.

Faith rolled her head back, her eyes closed as she rode the ex-watcher towards his orgasm. Gasping when he yanked her down, pressing a bruising kiss to her mouth as he rolled them over.

Faith stared up at him as he increased his pace and altered the angle to hit just the right spot over and again. His face filled with such concentration and something she'd never seen before in her life. Something that made she feel sick to her core, even as the pure bliss of her orgasm swept through her.

"Buffy…" he panted. "I….I love….you."

Faith winced as his whole body when ridged. She sucked in a shape breath as he spilled himself inside her body. - No, Buffy's body. Buffy's body. Buffy's boyfriend. Buffy's life.

Giles collapsed beside her.

Faith stared up at the ceiling, a tremor beginning beneath the skin. Hating the way her heart was pounding and her body felt warm and cold at the same moment.

Giles rolled over, dragging her to his chest. "That was incredible." he whispered. "I'm glad you changed your mind about coming home." then he kissed her sweetly and drifted off to sleep.

**~Don't Lie~**

She needed to get away. She needed to warn Giles and stop Faith. She yanked on the chains. They'd come lose eventually. He paused when she heard the truck door opening. Another guy stepped inside. She hadn't seen this one before but she'd heard him. Not that that really mattered, because he had a syringe and Buffy knew what that meant. They were going to knock her out again. She couldn't let that happen. Giles, Sam and her friends were in danger. She waited for the new guy to get close then wrapped the chain around his neck.

"How about this? I'll be quiet and you can scream."

"Argh!"

"Now, you unchain me very slowly and politely, or/ I kill this guy." Buffy said as the other two rushed to the door.

"When we go on a job we always put our affairs in order first, in case of accidents." the older guy informed her calmly.

"Collins!"

"Sorry, Smithy." the older one, Buffy now knew as Collins, sighed before walking away.

Buffy looked down at the guy, cursing the damn watcher's council and their heartless approach. Grunting angrily, she pushed the man away, and kicking him out of the truck.

Buffy stared at the grey walls of the truck, fear clawing at her insides and tears burning her eyes. She was never getting out of this. She was never going to see Giles or Sam or her mom or Will and Xan again. Faith had won. She'd always wanted Buffy's life, her friends and now she'd have them while Buffy was dragged across the world and probably dumped in some deep dark cell. She swallowed the pain and let the tears fall.

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles was in the kitchen, wrapped in his robe making breakfast when he heard Buffy coming down stairs. He scrapped the scrambled eggs onto a plate and carried them out to meet her. "Morning." he smiled brightly, holding a plate out to her.

Faith looked from him to the plate. "Morning."

"Here." he insisted.

Faith took the plate reluctantly. "Thanks."

Giles nodded, dropped a kiss to her lips and walked over to the couch.

Faith watched him for a few moments before following after him. Taking a seat on the armchair to eat her breakfast, ignoring the way he frowned at her with confusion. She needed to leave, her flight was in a couple of hours.

"Are you alright?"

Faith's head snapped up to meet Giles concerned eyes. "Huh? Yeah. Five by five." she shovelled the eggs into her mouth and dropped her gaze to the floor. Leaping out of her skin when the sudden cry of a baby echoed the room.

"You eat, I'll get him." Giles said, putting his plate on the coffee table and getting out of his seat.

Faith sat there silently for a few long seconds before realizing this was the perfect chance to escape without questions. She got up, placing the plate next to Giles's and headed for the door. She didn't make it.

"He wants you." Giles said suddenly from behind her.

Faith spun around and found herself suddenly with a armful of crying baby. Her nose wrinkled as she held him awkwardly. "What's wrong with it…him?"

Giles watched her, his brow drawn tight together. "You know Sam. Sometimes your all he wants."

Faith looked down at the little boy, who stared back at her, looking deeply into her eyes before bursting into a high pitched scream and scrambling to get away from her.

"Here. Here. Take him. - I've got to go." she thrust the little boy into Giles arms and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I…the cops want statements."

"But they don't have her. The council picked her up."

"What?" Faith spun to stare at him.

"The Watcher's Council sent a retrieval team after her."

"Oh…." she didn't know how she felt, happy, relieved, guilty. She looked between Giles and the little boy. "…I've got to go."

Giles watched her rush out of the house with a deep feeling of unease in his chest.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy wasn't going down like this. She'd spent the whole night thinking about it, swinging from hope to despair before deciding that there was no way in hell that she was going to let Faith take her life. Even if it meant take these guys lives. She was stretched out on the floor of the truck, her feet near the door. She didn't have a plan, she just had to wait for the perfect opportunity and finally it came when Collins pushed his weapon through the bars windows intending to shoot her.

Buffy flipped herself, capturing his wrist and the gun with her legs and yanking hard. Pulling Collins forward so hard his face collided with the door. He dropped the gun and fell backwards. Buffy dragged the weapon up till she could reach it with her hands and then used it to shoot off the chains, and the lock on the door to the front of the truck. She climbed into the drivers seat, grateful the idiots had left the keys on the floor of the truck. The balding guy came running at the door to stop her. Buffy flung it open hard, smashing him in the face and knocking him out. Then turned the key and hit the gas, driving the truck straight through the doors of the warehouse. Gunshot's ringing in her wake.

**~Don't Lie~**

Giles was cleaning up, carrying the plates into the kitchen when his apartment door opened. He turned hoping to see Buffy and froze at the sight of Faith.

"Giles!"

"God!" he staggered back.

"Don't move. OK, Giles, you have to listen to me very carefully…."

Giles looked at the weapon's chest, judging if he could get to it before she could get to him.

"…I'm not Faith."

"Really?" Giles snorted, moving slowly towards the chest.

"Really."

"Cos the resemblance is striking."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know. Giles, you just have to…Stop inching!"

Giles froze. "Look, I know what you're going to say and…."

"I'm Buffy."

Giles eyes widened. "Alright, I didn't know what you were going to say, but that doesn't make you any less crazy."

Buffy looked at him pleadingly, her eyes scanning him. "It's really me. Giles." she took a step forward and he took on back. "Giles, Faith switched. I mean, she had some device. She switched our bodies."

Giles felt his insides cramp even as his mind told him it was impossible. That there was no way that could have happened. That this was just one of Faith's tricks.

"Giles, I swear. It's me." She said softly, looking at him warmly and with such love.

Giles inhale sharply. "Um…." he put the plates down on the sideboard. "….If you are Buffy, then….then you'll let me tie you up without killing me."

"Giles we've had this discussion, I'm not into the kinky stuff." she smiled and laughed softly.

"Ma."

Giles head snapped around to stare at his son, the little body had shifted himself off the blanket he'd left him on and was staring up at Faith with arms raised.

"Ma." he babbled.

Buffy's lips pulled into a wide smile as she rushed over to him. "Hey Sammy." she lifted him into her arms, hugging him tight. "I missed you."

"Ma."

"Oh my God." she looked at Giles with a bright grin. "Did you hear that, he said Ma. You're so clever." she pressed a hard kiss to his head, her eyes closed as she inhaled his scent.

"Oh my God." Giles gasped, eyes wide and pained as he staggered back and into the desk chair.

"Giles?"

"You're Buffy."

"Yes."

Giles dropped his head into his hands, his fingers tugging at his hair.

"Giles?"

"Giles!" Willow yelled racing into the apartment.

"Will." Buffy grinned.

Giles looked over his shoulder as the teenager ran in with another girl.

"Oh, my God."

"Willow, wait. You don't understand."

"You're Buffy. You and Faith switched bodies. Probably through a Draconian Katra spell."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Wow. Uh…"

"You knew?" Giles said almost angrily.

"No." Willow frowned defensively. "No…I…we ran into Buffy - Faith, last night at the Bronze and Tara figured it out. - Tara, this is Buffy. Only really, this time. - Oh and Sam. - And Giles." she introduced.

"Hi." Tara said quietly.

"Tara's a really powerful witch."

"Not really." Tara blushed.

"No, really. She knew right away you weren't you. So we connected with the Nether Realms to find out what happened and we conjured this." Willow said in a rush of words, handing over a box to Buffy.

Buffy shifted Sam on her hip and took it. "What is…?"

"It's a Katra. Or the home-conjured version." Willow grinned. "It should switch you back, if you can get a-hold of Faith."

"Thank God. Do you know where Faith is?"

The phone ringing cut their conversation short. Giles reached for it blindly. "Hello. - Oh. Yes. Buffy's here. Actually, she's um….Oh, alright." he hung up and got to his feet, heading of the TV. "It was Xander. Apparently there's a report on the television."

"…_and barricaded themselves in the church with at least 20 parishioners. One of the few who escaped described the three men as frighteningly disfigured, almost inhuman. So far one escapee had since died of severe neck wounds." _

Buffy stared at the screen, her arms tightening around her son.

"_There is no report on the condition of the parishioners still trapped inside but their assailants have vowed to killed all of them if police attempt to storm the church."_

"I need to get there. Giles?"

"Just give me a second to get changed." he said, running up the stairs to the bedroom.

At the top he froze at the sight of the tangled heap that were his bedclothes, that sickness flooding him once more. His heart pounding painfully in his chest.

"Giles!" Buffy yelled up.

"One minute." he stripped out of his robe and grabbed his discarded clothes from the day before. He dressed as quickly as he humanly could then turned to the bed, staring at it.

"People's lives are in danger Giles!" Buffy called.

Swallowing down the thick ball of guilt he ran down the stairs to find the girls waiting for him at the door.

**~Don't Lie~**

The stolen truck screeched to a halt a few feet from the police line and they all climbed out. Buffy handing Sam off to Willow as they ran up to the cordon.

"You people, get outta here!" a police officer ordered.

"We've gotta get inside." Willow said desperately.

"The police are handling this. Back off. Right now."

"But we can't. You don't understand."

Buffy exchanged looks with Giles, before he threw himself in front of the officer. "Dammit, man! We have to get inside!" he yelled, throwing his arms around dramatically. "Our, erm…our families are in there! Our, erm, mothers and tiny, tiny babies."

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy snuck in through the back away. As she reached the door, Riley and one of the vamps rolled into her path. Riley throwing the guy into the sunlight where it went up in flames.

"Riley!" Buffy rushed over.

"Uh, it's OK, miss. Get yourself out of harm's way."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "It's me. Buffy. - Look I can't explain now. How many are in there."

Riley frowned at her. "Uh…I…"

"Right." she huffed. "Forget it. Will's out front with Giles and Tara. I have to get in there."

"But…?" he looked from Buffy to the door. "….Buffy's already…."

"I'm in there? - I mean…." she shook her head. "Just keep everyone out." with that she rushed past him into the church.

Buffy saw them from the door, the vamp railing on her - Faith. Sneaking quietly around the behind the guy she picked up a piece of wood from one of the broken pews. While he was busy jabbering on she thrust the stake through his back, turning him to ash.

She stared at herself, fury ablaze inside her. Faith attacked first.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Giles? You alright?" Willow asked, bouncing Sam in her arms.

Giles looked down at her. "I'm fine."

"She'll be alright. She'll fix this." Willow said comfortingly.

"I know." only there were things that couldn't be fixed. He'd cheated, knowingly or not. He should have know it wasn't Buffy the moment he'd kissed her. In hindsight all the signs were there. She was too rough. Too dangerous. Too hungry. And he hadn't questioned it. - No. He had. For a second he'd know something was wrong but then he'd let himself be seduced. He'd let himself be taken over by the heat and the lust. How was he ever meant to face her again? How was she ever going to forgive him when she found out.

"Giles." Willow said, shaking his arm, pulling him from his thoughts. "It's done. She's back."

He sagged against the side of the truck.

**~Don't Lie~**

"Giles?"

He froze as he yanked the bottom sheet off the bed.

Buffy lent against the wall, her hands behind her, palms flat, watching him. Things had been tense since she'd gotten her body back. After saving the people at the church and losing Faith, they'd come back and Giles had instantly vanished up stairs. Buffy had given him half an hour before she'd followed him.

"You slept with her." Buffy said after too long a silence.

Giles whole body stiffened, his head staring straight ahead. He didn't reply. He knew there was nothing he could say that was going to make it better.

Buffy stared down at her shoes, tears once again pooling in her eyes.


	14. I Should Have Known

**A/N: Some of the conversations are taken from the episodes, which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is ****FAN FICTION**** after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of **_**my **_**story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy. **

_**Episode setting: **_**Superstar and the Angel episode Sanctuary. **

**Sorry this is suck a short chapter guys, but I'm once again having trouble with this fic. Damn season four. Hope it's not too bad. **

* * *

**I should have known**

To say things were tense between Buffy and Giles after Faith's reappearance would be an understatement. In the week since the whole body swap incident they'd barely spoken, which made for an uncomfortable home life. Which was probably why Buffy was hiding out at her mom's with Sam. Giles hadn't tried to talk her into coming home and she knew it was out of guilt.

"Buffy." Joyce said softly from the kitchen island. "As much as I've loved having you around. Shouldn't you….."

Buffy lifted her gaze from the kitchen table where she was sat working on her latest essay. She's asked for some personal time from school. Willow dropped off her work assignments in the evenings. "I can't go back mom." she shook her head. "I just can't…."

"Buffy." Joyce walked over to join her daughter. "None of us knew. - I didn't, and I'm your mother."

Buffy stared suborning down at the papers. "It's not the same thing."

"No its not. - Look you know Mr Giles isn't exactly one of my favourite people at present, but….he's not to blame for this Buffy. Faith is."

"I…." Buffy tightened her jaw. "I just….can't face him right now."

"And what about Sam? He's missing his father Buffy."

"He sees him every day." Buffy defended.

"It's not the same and you know it. - Sam's grown used to having Giles around all the time. Day and night. He knows something's wrong, Buffy. Baby's can sense disharmony within her families."

Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat, pushing her chair back. "I've got to go out."

"Buffy."

"I'm meeting Jonathan."

Joyce's face lit up. "Well in that case, we can have this conversation later. Remind Jonathan that I still owe him a dinner won't you."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes mom. - I don't know how late I'm going to be." she added heading for the back door.

**~Don't Lie~**

"It's all Faith's fault. She's like poison." Buffy murmured staring into her coffee mug. "No, worse, she's like acid that eats through everything. - Maybe she's a bomb." she reached for the sugar. "The point is, everything was going along great with Giles, and then she comes along and messes everything up."

"Buffy, you know what I think?" Jonathan said wisely, lifting his large yellow mug. "I don't think this is about you being angry with Faith. I think you're angry with Giles…."

"Of course I'm angry at Giles. He slept with _Faith_."

"Could you, please?"

Buffy glared at the chipper young woman who interrupted their conversation for an autograph. Though she couldn't blame her. This was Jonathan. Who didn't want to be close to him? - Buffy was so lucky to be his friend.

"I mean, you have this amazing connection with him. You've been through so much together, and then at the one moment when it matters the most, he looks into you eyes and he doesn't even see that it's not you looking back."

Buffy stared down at the table top, the feeling of hurt and rage flooding into her. She knew Jonathan was right. He was always right. "I was able to tell." she murmured softly.

Jonathan looked at her sympathetically. "Exactly. And that's what hurts."

"He should have known."

"Buffy, I've known you guys for a long time. I've seen you together and I hate seeing you two like this. You're my inspiration, you know."

Buffy blushed. "Really? Us?"

"You're relationship is…what fairy-tales are made of. I'd hate to see that ruined be one little mistake. - Talk to him."

Buffy stared out into the rain soaked street.

"I'm sure you can work through this Buffy. - I know you can. Besides, my god-son would never forgive me if I don't try to get his parents back together."

Buffy smiles sadly at him. "You think we can fix this?"

"I'm sure of it. - And if I'm wrong you can smack me. Karen with a K will lend you a book and its pretty heavy." he laughed.

"I don't know how to get past it? What if it's too late? What if after all this he doesn't want me any more?"

"He does. It's not gonna be easy, Buffy, but you guys are very special together. That's worth a little hard work." he got out of his seat and headed for the door.

"But…I'm not even sure if I know how to talk to him any more. How do I make it Ok again?"

"If you really want it, you can make anything happen." Jonathan smiled brightly. "Trust me."

"Always." Buffy nodded confidently.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy sat at the patio table, her fingers knotted together in her lap when Giles carried Sam down the steps two hours after her meeting with Jonathan. She watched Giles freeze as he saw her.

"Buffy."

She got to her feet nervously. "So…Uh…we n-need to talk." noting the panic and pain flicker of the man's face she stepped forward, rushing to clarify. "Oh, no not that kind of talk…well I mean, I don't want it to be that kind of talk but…" she shrugged. "Jonathan said we needed to talk."

Giles stared at her for a long moment before inhaling deeply and carrying on towards the apartment.

Buffy followed him and Sam inside, watching awkwardly from the desk as Giles settled their son in the play pen.

"So. Tea?"

"Uh sure. Yeah. Tea's good."

Giles walked into the kitchen, Buffy following after him. The tension between them was suffocating. Neither of them had ever expected this to happen to them. They'd ridiculously allowed themselves to believe they'd make it. They'd be the exception to the rule. That it could work despite everything. But now they knew the truth. It was never going to be easy because of their relationship. Because they were so close.

Buffy fiddled with a pen on the kitchen counter, her eyes locked on it as she chewed nervously on her lip. Things had been like this with Angel. Sure they'd had those awkward few months when he'd come back from hell, when he was still reeling from the guilt and she was struggling with her new found feelings for Giles. But in all honestly they'd never really had to work at anything. It had all seemed so simple for them, despite everyone's disapproval of their relationship. Inhaling deeply she risked a glance at Giles to find the man staring down at his feet as he leant against the opposite counter, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his slacks.

"So….what did Jonathan say?" Giles finally asked, still refusing to look at her.

"He said we were his inspiration." Buffy murmured uncertainly. "If you can believe that."

Giles shrugged.

Buffy turned her head, staring out towards Sam who was completely obvious to the slow crumble of his parent's relationship. "I…" she sucked in a breath. They needed to talk about this. She needed to clear the air. "….I just don't get it."

Giles didn't say anything for a few moments, slipping his glasses off his nose and pressing his thumb and forefinger into the now vacant space. "Buffy I…."

"I mean how couldn't you know?" she snapped. Her head shot around to glare at him.

Giles swallowed. "I…" he shook his head. "I don't know." he sighed regretfully. "I should have. I've thought back on that night…"

Buffy inhaled sharply, her head snapping around once more to stare into the distance.

"I mean….I thought about how I…." he raked his finger through his greying hair. The weight in his chest almost crushing him. "In hindsight it seems so obvious now. I should have known. I should have seen. She said…things that should have told me it was Faith. - But…." he shrugged sadly.

They fell silent again, the tension far beyond discomfort. Buffy turned her back on the ex-watch as tears filled her eyes. She tried to force them back. Tried not to be weak. She reached out for the anger she'd been carrying for the past week. When she felt warm large, supportive hands on her shoulders she inhaled sharply and straightened her back till it was ram-rod straight. Sniffling humiliatingly at the tears that had begun to roll down her cheeks.

"Why didn't you see Giles?" she said in a small pathetic voice. "I saw."

Giles pressed his forehead to her hair. "I…."

"When you weren't yourself I took one look into your eyes and I knew." she said furious and hurt.

"I know." he sighed. His fingers tightening around her shoulders. Guilt ripping at his insides. "I should have seen it Buffy. I know that. I've known you long enough that I should have known it wasn't you. - And it doesn't matter that neither Willow nor Xander noticed. It doesn't matter that you're mom didn't know. - Because _I _should have. I know that." he scolded himself. "And I understand that you hate me. I understand why you can't be with me…."

Buffy turned to stare up at him. "I don't hate you." she insisted firmly. Her eyes red. "I only wish I could. Believe me I want to hate you. I want to kill you." she sighed. "But I can't. That's the worst thing about it. Because I still love you." she sniffled. "I just don't know what to do now."

Giles pressed his palm into the side of her face. Holding it firmly in place so as to stare into her eyes. See what he hadn't seen when it really counted. "Neither do I." he whispered softly.

Anything else that was about to be spoken was cut short when the phone rang. The initiative and Jonathan needed their help on a mission. Wiping her face and placing a kiss to Sam's head, Buffy rushed out to save the world at Jonathan's side.

**~Don't Lie~**

"I can't believe we believe it." Willow sighed, slouching into the couch beside Riley, their fingers knotted together.

"It seemed so real." Xander added in awe.

"Well, in that world, it was real. Alternate realities are neat." Anya sighed wishfully.

Buffy looked around at her friends, Sam settled in the centre of them all playing on his rug. As much as she was angry at Jonathan for manipulating them all. For screwing with their minds and making her believe that he was a hero. She couldn't help but thank him, just a little. He had helped her sort out some things with Giles. Though there was still a very long way to go. Things weren't back on track just yet, and part of Buffy feared they never would be. It was hard getting over the idea that the one man who she'd thought knew her better than anyone, didn't. But they were at least talking and they had Jonathan to thank for that. Glancing up and into the distance she caught sight of him, standing nervously in the shade of a tree. Pushing herself up off the grass, she lifted Sam onto her hip and left her friend to their conversation.

"Hi. I wasn't sure you'd come over." Jonathan said awkwardly. Sending a small smile to Sam, who waved at him. "Everyone's mostly forgotten, but I think some people are kinda angry."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah."

"Nobody's even talking to me." he sighed, dropping his hands back to his side. "And…the twins moved out."

"Why did you do it, anyway? No. I get why. How?"

Jonathan looked at his feet for a few seconds. "After the thing with the bell tower and the gun, I went to counselling." he murmured softly. His voice small. "You know, other kids with problems, and one of them had this spell. He glossed right over the monster part." he stated a little angrily. "Well, anyway, I just….I just wanted to apologise. Nobody was supposed to get hurt."

"Jonathan, you get why everyone is angry, though right? It's not just the monster. People didn't like being the little actors in your sock-puppet theatre."

"You weren't! You weren't socks!" Jonathan snapped defensively. "You were friends."

"You can't keep trying to make everything work out with some big gesture all at once." Buffy said, shifting Sam on her hip. "Things are complicated. They take time and work."

"Yeah." Jonathan nodded regretfully. "Right. - Hey Buffy, you remember I gave you some advice?"

"Watch out for southpaws?" Buffy smirked.

"No. About you and Giles. I mean, things are kinda starting to blur but this cool thing I said. That I don't really remember. I think its right. I think it's kind of the same thing you just said to me. About things taking work."

Buffy smiled warmly at Jonathan. "Yeah. I remember." she nodded.

"Good, because it's true. What you have is really complicated, but it's worth it. I think that's what I said." he frowned.

Buffy took a step forward. "Thanks. Friend." she pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning and heading back to her friends.

"Guys. I'm….going to head home." she smiled.

"What us to come?" willow said instantly.

"Nah. We'll be fine."

**~Don't Lie~**

"Buffy?" Giles frowned, leaping up from the couch. Surprised to see Buffy strolling causally through the door with Sam.

"So…I'm not saying everything's fixed. I'm not saying that we're just going back to how things were because I can't do that. But I….I want to try. I know Faith messed with you. I know she used you. That you couldn't have possibly known it wasn't me because no one did. - Well, except for Sammy." she smiled down at her son. "And while I'm still furious at you. And I mean steam coming out of my ear furious, we've been though too much to just throw it away over this…thing."

Giles inhaled sharply. "So you're….?" he looked between his son and Buffy. "Coming home?"

Buffy's lips curved awkwardly up into a small uncertain smile. "If you still want us."

Giles rushed forward. "Of course I want you."

"But…" Buffy pointed a finger at him. "I can't rush into anything. Not yet." she stated meaningfully and the look on Giles face instantly said he got it.

Keeping the space between them he nodded. "Of course."

They stood a few feet away from each other in an awkward silence before Buffy took a step forward, only for the phone to start ringing on the desk. Smiling apologetically Giles rushed to answer it.

"Hello? - What? - Are you…is he alright? - Of course, I'll tell her." he hung up before turning back to Buffy. "That was Cordelia." he said quietly. "Faith's in Los Angeles, and she's going after Angel and Wesley."

"What?" Buffy's eyes flew wide. "Are they alright?"

"I don't know."

"I…." she looked from Giles to Sam.

"You should go. She's dangerous and I'm not sure they'll be able to stop her." he stepped forward and lifted Sam out of her arms. "Be careful."

Buffy nodded, turning to leave only to freeze, rushing back to press a kiss to Sam's head. He paused for a few seconds, staring up at Giles before pulling him into a brief awkward kiss. "I'll be back as soon as I've dealt with Faith. - Let the others know."

Giles nodded as she rushed out of the door.

**~Don't Lie~**

Buffy didn't know what she'd expected to find when she arrived in Los Angeles, but it certainly hadn't been Angel and Faith being all cosy on his couch. The sight bring up feelings she was trying to hard to erase.

"Buffy." Angel said, leaping to his feet. "I didn't know you…"

"What?" she snapped, glaring between him and Faith.

"How…."

"What are you doing?"

"She…_we _were attacked." Angel said defensively. Buttoning his shirt as he spoke.

"_We_? You and…."

"Faith."

"You and Faith." Buffy scoffed.

"It's not what you think."

"You think I can form a thought now? Giles heard that she tried to kill you."

"That's true." Angel nodded.

"So you're punishing her with severe cuddling?" she snapped.

"Is that why you came? To punish her."

"I was worried about you."

"Buffy."

Buffy's head snapped around to glare furiously at her sister slayer. The woman who had stolen her body, tried to kill her. - Destroyed her relationship. Well, almost.

"Oh God. Buffy."

"Didn't think I'd find you, did you?" she spat.

"Let's talk." Angel interrupted.

"Talking isn't in order."

"She needs help." Angel insisted, trying to step between the two women.

"You have any idea what she did to me? - To Giles?"

"Yes." Angel nodded regretfully.

"Do you care?"

"She wants to change. A change to…"

"No! No chance. She's had enough chances. Jail."

"You think that'll help?"

"Buffy." Faith said quietly, stepping forward nervously. "I'm sor…"

"Apologize and I'll beat you to death."

"Go ahead."

"This is not gonna happen." Angel said firmly.

"You'll have to stop me." Buffy spat.

"Don't do this." Faith said looking up at Angel with pleading eyes.

"Go upstairs. Now." Angel ordered.

Buffy grabbed for the other slayer's arm. "You think I'll…."

"Back off!" Angel groaned, yanking her away from Faith.

"I'm not letting out of my sight."

"Go!" Angel ordered again, watching Faith rush up the stairs.

"Don't you move a…." Buffy shouted. Ripping her arm from Angel's grip when he tried to stop her from racing after Faith. She spun on instinct, bring her fist into the side of his head. Angel reacted, punching her hard in retaliation.

"I'm sorry." he said quickly, staring at the slayer in shock. "I'm sorry."

Buffy took a few steps back, rubbing at her jaw.

"She's not gonna run." Angel insisted.

"Why would she when she has her brave knight to protect her? What got you? The crying, pouty lips, heaving bosom? - I thought you needed help?"

"You think I wanted this to happen?"

"You hit me!"

"Not to go all schoolyard, but you hit me first. In case you forgot, you're stronger than me."

"You did it for her!"

"You were three seconds from making her run. She's at a crucial stage."

"She's playing you! Just like she did with everyone else when she was pretending to be me. Did she tell you about that?"

Angel glanced at his feet. "She did bad things to you…."

"You've no idea!"

"You've no idea what she's going though."

"But, of course, you do." Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't be in your club. I've never murdered anyone."

The sound of racing feet drew both their attention to the stairs.

"Faith. I told you…"

"Slight change of plan." Wesley said quickly, pushing Faith down the stairs. "Get your coat."

"What's going on?" Angel demanded staring uncertainly at the ex-watcher.

"The council's team is coming. They'll expect her to be drugged. Hello Buffy."

"How many?" Angel asked.

"Three."

"I'm afraid you came at a bad time."

"I'm feeling that." Buffy frowned. "It's probably the same guys that grabbed me back in Sunnydale."

Wesley frowned at the slayer. "They tried to grab you?"

"They thought I was her." Buffy nodded to Faith, who wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Dammit!"

"She'd head for the roof." Angel said.

"I've got her." Buffy rushed towards the roof.

"Buffy can protect her." Wesley insisted.

"That's not her agenda." Angel murmured panicked as Buffy vanished up the stairs.

**~Don't Lie~**

"You're not gonna run, Faith!" Buffy demanded, stepping onto the roof. Anger surging though her every second she stared at the other woman.

"What do you want to do? You gonna throw me off the roof again." Faith murmured, staring down at the street.

"Any reason why I shouldn't."

"There's nothing I can do for you, B. I can't ever make it right."

"So you're gonna take off, let us clean up another one of your messes."

"It'd be easier for you."

"Till you get bored with guilt and come back to shake things up?"

"That's not gonna happen."

"You're right." Buffy nodded. "It's not."

"Angel said you wouldn't give me a chance."

"I gave you every chance!" Buffy snapped, eyes burning into the other slayer. "I tried so hard to help you, and you spat on me. My life was just something for you to play with!" she yelled. "You didn't care. Not about me. Not about Giles! - Do you have any idea what you did to him? Do you?…."

Faith looked at her feet guiltily.

"What it did to us?" her voice tightened painfully.

Faith's eyes snapped up to stare at Buffy. "You have no idea what it was like! Being there. Listening to him say he loved you. Knowing I could never have that because this…." she waved a hand at the world around her. "….this is my life. Nothing's in control or makes sense. There's just pain and hate and nothing you do means anything…."

"Shut up!" Buffy yelled, refusing to feel sorry for her.

"To know that no one will ever love you. That you'll never hear those words. - Just tell me how to make it better?" she pleaded.

Buffy opened her mouth to speak only to be interrupted by gun fire. The pair running for cover as a helicopter rained down bullets.

**~Don't Lie~**

She knew Faith was going to run. No matter what Angel liked to believe, Faith was never going to change. Was never going to stop filling their lives with pain and blood. What made it worse was that Buffy had almost given into the woman's lies. Had almost began to believe that she really wanted to fix her mistakes. But thankfully Faith never to live up to her expectations. Now they were heading into a police station, angel under arrest for aiding a wanted murderer by a woman who clearly knew who and what he was, and hated him.

"Wait. This is murder!" Buffy snapped, drawing the pair to a halt.

"It's okay." Angel insisted.

"It's not!" Buffy snapped back, turning to glare at the female cop.

"Get her out of here!" the woman demanded.

"You are not taking the fall for her!" Buffy yelled.

"Buffy." Angel said softly, his eyes trailing across the room.

Buffy followed his gaze and froze, her mouth hanging open at the sight of Faith.

**~Don't Lie~**

"You should have told me what was going on?" Buffy demanded. Her arms folded over her chest.

"I didn't….I didn't think it was your business?"

"Not my business?" Buffy snapped furiously. "She tried to get me killed!"

"I needed more time with Faith…."

"You needed!"

"Yes."

Buffy shook her head. "And if it hadn't worked? If she's killed you?"

Angel shrugged. "It was a chance I had to take. - This was on me, Buffy. I failed last time."

"You didn't fail. _We _failed."

Angel sighed, slumping back against the railing.

"I can't because you were in danger." she said softly. "I thought she was going…"

"I'm always in danger. - You came for vengeance."

Buffy straightened. "I have a right to it."

"Not in my city!" he snapped. "Go home Buffy. Go back to Giles and your son!"

Buffy stared at him furiously for a few more seconds before snatching up her jacket and turning to leave. "It was nice seeing you again Angel."


End file.
